REVISED AND UPDATED EDITION

THE HANDBOOK FOR

1992, 1996 by Edward F. Murphy

All rights reserved.Published in Nashville, Tennessee, by Thomas Nelson Publishers, Inc.Written permission must be secured from the publisher to use or reproduce any part of this book, except for brief quotations in critical reviews orarticles.Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations in the Introduction through chapter 7 are from The Holy Bible, THE NEW KING JAMESVERSION, copyright 1979, 1980, 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc., Publishers; in the remainder of the book from THE NEW AMERICAN STANDARDBIBLE, copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977 by The Lockman Foundation, used by permission.Other Scripture quotations are noted by abbreviation:AMPLIFIED for THE AMPLIFIED BIBLE: Old Testament, copyright 1962, 1964 by Zondervan Publishing House; and for THE AMPLIFIED NEWTESTAMENT, copyright 1958 by The Lockman Foundation; used by permission.KJV for KING JAMES VERSIONPHILLIPS for J. B. PHILLIPS: THE NEW TESTAMENT IN MODERN ENGLISH, Revised Edition, copyright 1958, 1960, 1972 by J. B. Phillips; usedby permission of Macmillan Publishing Co.NEB for THE NEW ENGLISH BIBLE, copyright 1961, 1970 by The Delegates of the Oxford University Press and the Syndics of the CambridgeUniversity Press; used by permission.NIV for The Holy Bible: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, copyright 1978 by the New York International Bible Society; used by permission ofZondervan Bible Publishers.Permission has been secured from the publishers of works from which more than five hundred words have been quoted. Each of these works isdocumented fully in endnotes. The author and publisher hereby gratefully acknowledge the permissions granted for use in this book by thesepublishers.Chapter 64, Dangers and Pitfalls of Spiritual Warfare, is an adaptation and expansion of material by Edward F. Murphy first published in BehindEnemy Lines, Charles H. Kraft, ed., (Ann Arbor, Mich.: Vine Books, 1994) and used by permission.Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication DataMurphy, Edward F., 1921

Handbook for spiritual warfare / Ed MurphyRev. ed.

ContentsDedicationPreface to the Revised EditionPrefaceIntroductionPART ONE: WORLD VIEWS1. World View Clash2. The Spiritual Warfare Dimension of a Biblical World ViewPART TWO: THEOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONSSECTION I: THE ORIGIN AND SCOPE OF SPIRITUAL WARFARE3. Cosmic Rebellion: The Problem of Evil4. Rebellion in the Heavenlies and on Earth5. The Source of All Rebellion6. Cosmic-Earthly Warfare Begins: Genesis 37. Warfare in the Garden8. The Potential Demonization of the UnredeemedSECTION II: THE NORMAL CHRISTIAN LIFE9. Abundant and Conquering: John 10, Romans 6710. Its Ecstasy: Romans 811. Its Agony: Romans 812. The Reality of Below Normal Performance13. What Is Happening to Me? A Multidimensional Sin WarSECTION III: THE BELIEVERS WARFARE WITH THE FLESH14. The Flesh, the Believer, and the Demonic15. Walking in the Spirit: Galatians 516. Moral Sins: Galatians 517. The Age of Eros18. Homosexuality in Biblical Perspective19. Homosexuality and Contemporary Ministry

20. Autosexuality21. Indecency22. Religious Sins23. Social Sins24. Bitterness and IntemperanceSECTION IV: THE BELIEVERS WARFARE WITH THE WORLD25. The Gospel and Culture26. The Worlds Power, Its Character, Our VictoryPART THREE: A SURVEY OF BIBLICAL TEACHING (OLD TESTAMENT)27. Warfare in Paradise28. Enmity Between the Seeds: Genesis 3:1529. The Messianic Promise: Genesis 3:1530. The Beginning of Warfare Between the Two Seeds: Genesis 4:1831. The ``Watchers of Genesis 6 and the Call of Noah32. Spiritual Warfare From the Flood to the Call of Abraham33. Warfare With the Gods34. The Low Point in Spiritual Warfare: Human Sacrifice35. Of Kings and ProphetsPART FOUR: A SURVEY OF BIBLICAL TEACHING (NEW TESTAMENT)SECTION I: JESUS ENCOUNTERS THE DEVIL AND DEMONS36. The Temptation37. In the Synagogue: Mark 138. Among the Tombs: Mark 5SECTION II: THE APOSTOLIC CHURCH ENCOUNTERS DEMONS39. Foundations and Lessons From a Failure: Mark 940. The Success of the Seventy: Luke 1041. Beginnings in Acts: Acts 2, 442. Ananias and Sapphira: Acts 543. Philips Ministry at Samaria and Peters Encounter With Simon Magus: Acts 844. Pauls Encounter With Elymas and the Spirit Medium of Philippi: Acts 13, 1645. Idolatry at Athens and Corinth: Acts 17, 1 Corinthians 81046. The Nature of Power Encounters47. Power Encounters at Ephesus: Acts 19SECTION III: SPIRITUAL WARFARE IN THE EPISTLES AND REVELATION48. Galatians, 1 and 2 Thessalonians49. 1 and 2 Corinthians, Romans, and the Pastoral Epistles50. Colossians and Ephesians51. Ephesians 652. Hebrews, the Catholic Epistles, the Johannine Writings

PART FIVE: PRACTICAL CONSIDERATIONS

SECTION I: ON THE DEMONIZATION OF CHRISTIANS53. The Reality, the Cause, the Cure54. Six Sin Areas and the Possible Demonization of ChristiansSECTION II: DEMONIZATION AND CHILD ABUSE55. Child Abuse56. Christians Demonized Through Child Abuse57. A National Crisis of Denial58. Creative Abuse--A Calculated EvilSECTION III: DEMONIZATION AND MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES59. Multiple Personality Disorders and Demonization60. The Non-Demonic Reality of Mental Illnesses61. Counseling With WisdomSECTION IV62. The New Age Movement63. The Road to Personal Victory in Spiritual Warfare: James 4:1864. Dangers and Pitfalls of Spiritual WarfareAppendices & Select Bibliography

DedicationTo some of those who have most influenced my life towards living as a good soldier of Christ Jesus (2 Tim. 2:3):Warner Hutchinson, who guided me, a religious teenager, into the assurance of my sonship with the Father through personal faith in the Son ofHis love;Dr. N. Paul V. Gupta of India, now with the Lord, who discipled me, taught me to pray, inspired me to give my life that religious people, alongwith the irreligious, might learn to love the Lord Jesus, the only way to the Father;Dr. Dick Hillis, one of Gods great missionaries of this century, founder of O.C. International (formerly Overseas Crusades), my mentor, theexample for my life, a godly man, humble, gentle, but so firm in leading his missionaries to equip the saints for the work of the ministry worldwide;Dr. Donald McGavran, now with the Lord, my second mentor and example for my life, who always reminded us, his students, that all Christianwork has only one measurable goal, the discipling of panta ta ethne (all the peoples);Rev. Ernest Rockstad, now with the Lord, who taught me and so many of us traditional Protestants the realities of spiritual warfare and how to setthe captives free (he literally burned out his life to heal the demonically afflicated);Carolyn, Ed., Jr., Barbara, and Paul, my four children, now all married, who accepted, with some difficulty, my absences from home as necessaryfor a soldier of Christ, who have forgiven me for not being there when they needed me;and Loretta, who became my bride when we were but young people, who has lived with me and warred with me against evil since 1950: my wife,my beloved, my companion, my fellow-missionary warrior and intercessor, the greatest treasure God has given to me after Himself.To all of these (in memory of some)I dedicate this book.

Preface to the Revised Edition

The widespread acceptance of The Handbook for Spiritual Warfare has been very gratifying to me as its author. While dozens of other books onspiritual warfare have been written since its appearance in 1992, the book still stands as the only beginning definitive study on this complex and allinclusive area of human reality.Since The Handbook is comprehensive, touching on so many areas of the believers multi-dimensional sin war, many of the new books havefocused on one or two dimensions of our warfare lifestyle and given those areas greater detail than I can do in a book of the magnitude of TheHandbook. This is what I hoped would occur as expressed in the first preface. I would encourage the reader to read that preface in its entirety.I will again boldly state my world view position in reference to spiritual warfare: It represents the context in which all of life is lived. Everythingfrom Genesis 3 to Revelation 20 that has occurred, is occurring, and will yet occur, occurs in the context of warfare between the kingdom of God andthe kingdom of evil supernaturalism. Therefore, to be ignorant of the very context in which all human experience occurs is a travesty, to say the least.Further research and continued personal experience as a soldier of Jesus Christ called by God to fight the good fight (1 Tim. 1:18; 2 Tim. 2:19) has only served to strengthen the convictions I expressed in the original edition of The Handbook. I have not changed my view on any major point.This includes the controversial issue of the extent to which demonic powers can partially control an area or areas of the life of genuine believers inChrist. I continue to minister to demonized Christians (see the Introduction, ixxv and the Index under Demonization, page 614). My experience andthat of my many colleagues involved in deliverance ministry has only confirmed my view that an astonishingly high percentage of Christians, bothleaders and laypersons, are damaged by demons in areas of life and ministry.My continued experience and research has expanded my knowledge of the role of the flesh and the world in spiritual warfare. Also, my growingunderstanding of the true and the false in the areas of repressed memories is reflected in revisions to my chapters on child abuse.The other major change in this revision of The Handbook is the inclusion of the new closing chapter, called Dangers and Pitfalls of SpiritualWarfare.To revise The Handbook further is not only unnecessary, but also impractical, since it would expand the length of the book, making necessary asecond volume. I trust that the revisions incorporated into this edition will make The Handbook even more helpful to those seeking a greaterunderstanding of the spiritual warfare dimensions of a biblical world view.Ed Murphy, 1996

PrefaceAs you read Carolyns story in the Introduction, you will recognize that I, like most involved in direct spiritual warfare ministry, did not choosethis dimension of kingdom activity. It was chosen for us by Another, whose servants we are. As you continue to read, you will discover how the postEnlightenment Western world view has filtered out much that the Bible reveals about the evil spirit world from our understanding.The church is revealed in Scripture not only as the people of God and the body of Christ, but also as a part of Gods warrior kingdom in ongoingconflict with internal evil (the flesh), social evil (the world), and supernatural evil (the spirit world). I call this a multidimensional sin war.Today God seems to be awakening His church anew to the vivid reality that we are at war: we are at war with evil; that evil is personal, notimpersonal; it is supernatural evil, the kingdom of Satan. Jesus, the Lamb (the gentle, sacrificial Savior) and the Lion (the mighty warrior) calls us outof our complacency to be soldiers of the cross. Girded with the full armor of God, we are to overcome the Evil One, to challenge the principalitiesand powers who hold individuals and peoples in bondage with the authority we have in Christ through declaration and intercession (see Acts 26:18).This book has arisen out of pain: my own encounters with personal evil and labors to help set the captives free.

out of confusion: Why are the churchs leaders so reluctant to lead Gods people to engage the powers? Why havent they grasped the dominantplace spiritual warfare has in Gods biblical revelation?out of conviction: The entire biblical revelation of Gods redemptive activity (salvation history) is set in the context of warfare between the twokingdoms.out of concern that we recover the biblical, radical warrior lifestyle that won cities and communities for Christ in the early centuries; that Godrevive His worldly church; that we not compromise with evil nor live for ourselves but for God, for the lost, and for the healing of the bruised amongus; that our teaching and practice of spiritual warfare be rooted in reverent reflection upon Scripture, church history, and valid experiencenot indogmatic theology, on one hand, or in sensationalism, on the other.out of appreciation for the faithful spiritual warriors in all nations who engage the enemy in the authority that is ours in Christ and throughintercession (often called warfare praying).out of prayer that our reigning Lord, to whom all the principalities and powers are in subjection, will again, through His church,preach the gospel to the poor, proclaim release to the captives, recovery of sight to the blind, set free those who are downtrodden, proclaim the favorable year ofthe Lord. (Luke 4:18 NASB)

As a missionary I have been involved in encounter with the powers for years, since 1958. Unfortunately, most of those years I was untrained as aspiritual warrior. As a missiologist, my graduate studies all focused on how to take panta ta ethne (all the peoples) from Satan to God, and in practiceI have experienced both success and failure. As a pastor-counselor, I have ministered to hundreds of demonically afflicted people both one-on-oneand in groups. Some of their stories are in this book. As a teacher, I want to share what I have learned from God, from my colleagues who ministercontinually to the bruised among us, and from the suffering people who have ministered to me even as I have ministered to them.This is a work in progress. It is a beginning attempt to go deeper into the warfare dimension of the Christian life, and to some degree, intoevangelism. The main focus is pastoral, with a secondary focus evangelistic.I have tried to both broaden and deepen the studies already done in this arena of warfare, especially with the spirit world, to produce acomprehensive work on the subject. Since spiritual warfare touches every dimension of human life, I have been forced to move into areas of studyand experiences outside my areas of expertise, and I ask my readers who are specialists in these areas to keep this in mind as they discover anyshortcomings in this work.I write this preface after finishing the book. I am comfortable with most of what I have written, yet uncomfortable with some of what I havewritten. I only wish time had permitted a rewrite of some of the exegetical sections with more input from biblical scholars, but deadlines made thisimpossible. So I release the book, hoping it will open the flood gates, inspiring others more knowledgeable and gifted than I to write and help Godsarmy fight the good fight in these closing years of this century, and, if the Lord tarries His coming, in the opening years of the twenty-first century.By its very nature, this is a controversial book. Some dimensions of spiritual warfare are controversial both theologically and in practice. Mymission organization, O.C. International (formerly Overseas Crusades), is committed to power encounter as a valid dimension of evangelism andChristian living and spiritual warfare as the context of the churchs life and mission. Yet the views expressed in this book are my own. They do notnecessarily represent the views of O.C., its leadership, and its missionaries. I am grateful to O.C. for allowing me time to do this writing.I am grateful to the dozens of publishers, writers, and people who have allowed me to quote their material. Because of the comprehensive natureof this book, I have felt it right and necessary to quote many of the experts and not to rely upon my own limited knowledge and experience.I am grateful also to my former administrative assistant, Mrs. Betty Sparks, who typed the first draft of this book, which was three times the sizeof what you see here. Her beloved husband, Charles, was diagnosed with incurable cancer about the time we began the work. Betty hung in therewith me until the emotional and physical strain was no longer bearable. Charles went to be with the Lord before the book was completed. Bettysdaughter, Mrs. Melissa Parle, stepped into the gap along with one of O.C.s faithful staff workers, Mrs. Lois Vogen, who with others, finished the

manuscript. I could not have done this work without Betty, Charles, Melissa, Lois, and Loretta, my faithful wife, who again put up with months ofmy absence until the work was complete. Thank you in Jesus dear name.Deep heartfelt thanks go to Mrs. Dolly McElhaney and my editor, Mr. Mark E. Roberts, for condensing the volume of material I first submitted tothe present, more manageable size. I had enough for three volumes. I owe them an immeasurable debt for their gracious labors and critical help. Ialso thank them in Jesus dear name.

IntroductionCAROLYNS STORYEd, you must come home right away. My wifes voice trembled across the long distance line. Carolyn has been acting strangely since youvebeen away. As I dealt with her last night, I saw a demon glaring at me through her eyes.A demon! I exclaimed. Thats impossible. Carolyn is a Christian. Christians cant have demons.I know she is a Christian, Loretta replied. I also know Christians arent supposed to have demons. But it was a demon that stared at methrough her eyes. That was not Carolyn.I was shocked, incredulous, angry, and confused. How could demons abide in the same body with the Holy Spirit?As the oldest of our four children, Carolyn had always assumed leadership for the other three, being an example to them of stability, discipline,and strong commitment to Christ.True, we had been having our first behavioral problems with her on this missionary furlough from Colombia, South America. I was not overlyconcerned, however. Any fourteen-year-old girl dropped suddenly into the turbulent environment of the 1960s in the United States would experiencereadjustment difficulties. Besides, Loretta and I were so busy in ministry that I felt Carolyn was reacting to our neglect of her.Demons were the furthest thing from my mind. I knew nothing about them except that, according to Scripture, they existed, were especiallyactive in Bible times, and in modern times were to be found on the mission field. To my knowledge, however, I had never met one during my thenten years as a missionary.Loretta, I declared, you must be mistaken. Carolyn cant have demons. Besides, I cant come home yet. The conference wont be over forseveral days.You have to come home, she insisted. I cant handle this by myself. Ask Dick Hillis for permission to come home today.Last night I went into Carolyns room to talk with her. I found her lying on the floor with her feet up on the bed listening to some weird music.When I called to her she did not answer. She was in a trance.As I spoke to her about her recent rebelliousness towards us and the Lord, she suddenly changed before my eyes. She became hostile and beganyelling at me to get away and leave her alone. I noticed a mysterious darkness in her eyes. It was not Carolyn who glared at me through those eyesbut another personality, an evil personality, totally unlike the Carolyn we know and love. I am sure it was a demon.The words that came out of her mouth were not Carolyns. They were evil, cynical, haughty, and God-defying. I spoke to the evil thing andcommanded it in the name of the Lord Jesus to release Carolyn so I could speak directly to her alone. Suddenly her eyes changed and Carolyn wasback in control of herself.Deeply disturbed by the conversation with my wife, I told Dick Hillis what Loretta had said. To my amazement, he affirmed that under certaincircumstances Christians can be partially controlled by demons. I had never heard of such a thing before. In all my years of theological andmissionary training, no one had ever taught me that true Christians could experience demonic bondage.111 1. See Merrill F. Unger, What Demons Can Do to Saints (Chicago: Moody, 1977) and C. Fred Dickason, Demon Possession andthe Christian (Westchester, Ill.: Crossway, 1989).

If Loretta says Carolyn has demons, you had better get home and help her, Dick said. Someone else can cover your responsibilities here in theconference.On the journey home to Los Angeles from San Jose, California, I was both angry and fearful: angry over the possibility that evil spirits coulddisturb the life of my lovely daughter and fearful that, if true, I wouldnt know how to free her from their influence. What do I do? I thought. Wheredo I begin?I arrived late and Carolyn was already in bed. Awakening her, I told her what Loretta had said about her rebellious attitude and the demonsglaring through her eyes.Within moments her usually sweet personality changed into something evil. With a strange glare in her eyes she screamed at me. Leave mealone! she yelled.I forbade the demons to speak directly through Carolyn. When she calmed down, I spoke to her very quietly about her walk with the Lord.Suddenly she became her usual sweet, responsive, and obedient self.Dad, she said, I dont know whats the matter with me. There seems to be something inside of me that takes over and I do weird things. Dad,help me. Im scared. I love Jesus and I want to do what is right. Whats wrong with me?Carolyn and I got down on our knees in prayer. She confessed her rebellion and disobedience, crying to the Lord to break the power of eviloppressing her life. She was having unusual difficulty in praying, however, especially in declaring the lordship of Christ over her life.In the past I had noticed she had a small object hanging on a chain around her neck, but hadnt thought anything of it. As I was praying with her,trying to resist the Devil on her behalf, my attention was drawn to that object. It looked like a Star of David.Where did you get that star? I asked. She told me the name of the boy who had given it to her. I knew him. He was a professing Christian butdefinitely not a committed believer.What is it supposed to symbolize? I inquired.I dont know what it symbolizes, she replied. Its just a kind of good-luck charm. Its found on the dust covers of some musical albums. All thekids wear them.The star turned out to be a pentagram, a symbol of the occult world. At that time I was almost totally ignorant of occultism, its symbols andpractices. Yet somehow I knew that thing was an evil symbol. Its presence on her body served as an amulet, drawing evil spirits to her life.Carolyn, you will not find full freedom from the demon spirits afflicting you until you remove that object and renounce the spirit forcesassociated with it, I told her.She took it off her neck and threw it on the floor. She confessed and renounced her occult involvement, her recent interest in heavy metal rockmusic, and her rebellious attitude and selfishness. Soon we were in a face-to-face confrontation with evil spirits.Dad, theyre after me. Im afraid, she cried. They have a hold on my life. I want them to go. Dad, please help me get rid of them.Get away from my daughters life, I commanded. She has broken all allegiance with you. Get out! Leave her alone! In the name and authorityof my Master, the Lord Jesus Christ, who defeated your master on the Cross, I command you to go away from Carolyn and do not return. Get out ofher life! Let her alone. Carolyn does not belong to you. She has given her life to the Lord Jesus Christ.Within a few minutes the struggle ceased. Carolyn became calm. She joyfully began praising the Lord for setting her free. The evil spirits hadleft. We both cried and rejoiced before the Lord for His grace in releasing her from the demonic spirits.We went to bed happily thinking that the battle was over. About two A.M., however, Carolyn banged on our bedroom door.Dad, the demons are back, she cried. Help me! They seem to be coming at me from under my bed. They want to get back inside of me.I went to her room with her. What do you have under your bed? I asked.I have a small box filled with more of those stars and other paraphernalia. I forgot about them when we were praying last night. Dad, please getthem out from under my bed.

No, Carolyn, I replied. I wont do it for you. You have to do it yourself. By your choice you got involved with them and by your choice youllget rid of them.Im afraid, she said, but Ill do it if you will help me. She reached under the bed, pulled out the little box, and handed it to me. Dad, will youdestroy them for me? I dont want anything further to do with them.No, I replied. You must destroy them. This will declare to the spirit world that you are making a complete break with them. Ill walk out in theback yard with you, but you must do it yourself.2She did. We returned to her room for another talk and time of prayer. It was then that I began to discover the extent of the demonic evil influencethat had come against her life through her involvement in demonic rock music and through the influence of her boyfriend.Carolyn had never been fond of extreme rock music. She liked some of the more mild, almost folk, rock groups but showed no interest in heavyrock groups with their grotesque dress, vulgar gestures, and immoral, rebellious, often occultic lyrics. We had never allowed them in our home.While on furlough things were different, however. Both Loretta and I were continually involved in ministry and were neglecting our children.Most of the time I was away from home on mission business or in missionary conferences. Loretta had her own missionary meetings to attend, plusheavy correspondence and personal contact with our supporters.Unknown to us, Carolyns friend had introduced her to the fringes of the hippie-occult protest movement of the sixties. He had also exposed herto heavier rock music and transcendental meditation. She found that she could go into a trance while listening to the music of certain rock groups.Carolyn confessed her sins to the Lord, renouncing transcendental meditation and all evil music. She destroyed her offensive rock music andeverything in her possession which she knew dishonored the Lord.3This was the beginning of what later became the most important world view shift4 in my Christian life. Little did I know that over a period ofseveral years I would not only come to understand that true believers, under unusual circumstances of sin, can come under direct partial demoniccontrol, but I would also find myself involved in a ministry of helping to rid believers of these evil personalities.We are all aware that Satan and his demons are our enemies. We know that they war against true believers, churches, and other Christianinstitutions. Most of us can quote verbatim parts of Ephesians 6:1020, James 4:78, 1 Peter 5:811, and other spiritual warfare passages.5 Thequestion is, do we really comprehend the power hurled against us by Satan and his demons? Do we really know what Satan can do in the lives ofbelievers who violate Gods Word, even through ignorance?THE REALITY OF DEMONIZATION: RELATING SCRIPTURE AND EXPERIENCEPerhaps the most controversial question to be raised is, Can a true believer be demonized? Note that I am speaking not of demon possession,but of demonization.6 Possession implies ownership and total control. Christians, even disobedient ones, belong to God, not to Satan. Thus, Satancannot control them totally. Demonization is a different matter, however. By demonization I mean that Satan, through his demons, exercises direct,partial control over an area or areas of the life of a Christian or non-Christian.Can that really happen to Christians?22 2. This type of willful defiance of the spirit world in the power and name of the Lord Jesus Christ by one who once served it iscalled a power encounter.33 3. As is often the case with believers who have been demonized, set free, and gone on to a close walk with the Lord, Carolynbecame quite sensitive to the spirit world. She is acutely aware of the presence of evil spirits in people and places, even in homesand stores. She has also been wonderfully used to help free other demonically afflicted believers.44 4. World view refers to ones most fundamental view of reality. See chapter 1. What I experienced here is also called aparadigm shift.55 5. I will define spiritual warfare in more detail in later chapters.66 6. For a look at the contrasting notions of demon possession and demonization see chapter 8.

According to Scripture and Christian experience it can. Scriptures warn believers not to fall into the same condemnation as the devil or fallinto reproach and the snare of the devil (1 Tim. 3:67).7 They also tell us of believers who have turned aside after Satan (1 Tim. 5:15).The apostle Peter wrote to warn believers of the terrible danger they faced as a result of Satans attacks. He said that if they did not learn how toresist him firm in [their] faith, they could be devoured by the devil (1 Pet. 5:89). Those are strong words. No wonder the apostle Paul writesabout the danger of believers being ignorant of Satans schemes (2 Cor. 2:11).Much is being written about demons today, also. We are witnessing what one scholar called a demonic deluge. Some of it is excellent; some ofit is very bad. Studies on Satan lean toward sensationalism on one hand and rigid dogmatism on the other. The very act of studying demons causesone to focus so intently on them that extreme views often result, understandably but unfortunately.For many, any theology of demons they have is built primarily on subjective experience. They uncritically believe what demons tell them andwrite books accordingly. This, combined with their emotional subjectivism and their tendency to see all evil, and all personal, and all socialmalfunctions as primarily and directly demonic (they are always indirectly demonic), further divides the church on this crucial area of reality andturns the unbelieving critic away from Christ and the Bible.On the other hand, there are others whose theology of demons is built on their own limited interpretations of Scripture with little or no experiencein direct, on-going confrontation with evil spirits. Declaring what demons can and cannot do, they produce their books from this monocultural,dogmatic perspective.The result is the church divided again. Just as tragic, millions of terribly hurt people, believers as well as unbelievers, go without help or go tocounselors who may be atheists or Christians inexperienced in the demonic realm.The Scripture-versus-experience issue is unfortunate, unbiblical, and illogical. Never in Scripture are the two held to be mutually exclusive. Theyare always seen to be two sides of the same coin. Gods written revelation is the Bible. That written revelation is not given in an abstract theologicalform, however. It is given in historical form as God makes Himself known to His people and to the world in the context of human experience. Aknowledge of God divorced from the experience of God led to the Crusades, the Inquisition, and other chapters in the colonization of the heathenworld by organized Christianity too shameful for words.We all recognize this in our evangelism. We commonly say we want to help people find Christ as their personal Savior. We know informingthem about God and Jesus is not enoughthey must experience Him personally. God must first be experienced before He is understood.We all recognize this to some degree in our development of theology. We realize that Gods truth is not discovered primarily by the human brainbut by the human heart as revealed by the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 2:10). Thus if we had to make the choice of being taught about God by a brilliant,highly trained, but unsaved theologian, or a semi-literate but Spirit-filled believer, we would probably choose the believer. While he may not beable to define God theologically, he can lead us to God experientially.Why do we evangelicals so distrust experience with the spirit world? Why do we develop theologies about this dimension of reality about whichwe are personally ignorant except through biblical exegesis? Can a theology of Satan and demons that is both true and useful for ministry really bedeveloped by theologians studying their Hebrew and Greek Bibles while sitting in their air-conditioned offices apart from at least some personalexperience?If the theologians in question did not bring limiting preconceptions about what demons can and cannot do to their study, they could possibly,exclusively through the Scriptures, develop guidelines to practical demonology that could then be tested by experience. Based on the results of thatexperience, they would then need to readjust their demonology to fit the contemporary assault of evil supernaturalism the church is facing today.

77 7. It is amazing to realize that these words are warnings to church pastors (elders). Can pastors be demonized? We will seelater in our study.

This is exactly what has happened to me and many other theology professors, Bible teachers, counselors, missionaries, and pastors in the past fewyears. We were all taught theology in college and seminary. We accepted what we were taught because we trusted our teachers. As we read Scripturesthrough their eyes, we found what they told us we would find. Occasionally we found things they told us we would not find, but, with a fewexceptions, we remained quiet.Then we were launched into ministry and our theology put to the test of experience. The basic tenets of our historic Christian theology probablydid not change. In fact, they only became firmer. What did happen, however, is that we were forced to return to Scripture for help, again and again.We began to examine anew certain dimensions of our unreflective theology when it did not prove congruent with our own valid experience with God,with people, and, in many cases, with Satan and demons.Therefore, correct biblical interpretation is that interpretation which is most consistent with experience. Theology which is contradicted byexperience, or at the least brought into question, is theology that needs to be reexamined. To declare that theology must be maintained even if it ischallenged by on-going experience is legalism, pharisaism, dogmatism, and evidence of subtle arrogance. To continue with theology that hurtsalready hurting people is sin. We cannot sacrifice people on the altar of theological presuppositions.In the wake of the eighteenth-century rise of rationalism known as the Enlightenment, Western theology lost an intuitive, historic understandingof the spirit world. As in all other areas where the church has ignored or resisted dimensions of biblical reality, the process of rediscovery usuallycomes through experience. This experience calls theology into question at that point. The theological status quo will always resist the reformers,however.The status-quo theologians and Bible teachers, if they hold a high view of Scripture, will go back to Scripture, not to openly challenge their ownpresuppositions in light of the experience of their brethren, but to defend their presuppositions against their misguided brothers.The reformers, if they also hold to a high view of Scripture, will also return to Scripture. If they are honest, they will return not to provethemselves right and their status-quo brethren wrong, but to better understand what their experience is telling them. When they do, they will eithercall into question their experience, their understanding of Scripture, or both.Usually the latter will occur. If their experiences are valid they will find that they are supported by Scripture much more than they had firstimagined. They will also find that Scripture will cause them to restate their experience and not go to extremes. They will recognize that they too, asall men, are susceptible to both deception and error. The result should be a newly formulated theology more consistent with both Scripture andexperience.This is what is occurring today with the churchs new experience with demons. The demons have always been with us. But, as conservativeevangelical theologians and Bible teachers have been telling us for years, as we see the day of the final conflict between the kingdom of God and thekingdom of evil approaching, an outpouring of demonic evil such as the church and the world has not known since the early centuries of the Christianera will occur.If we are entering that period, and most biblical scholars suspect we are, then we should expect Satan to come into the open and through lying,deceitful spirits assault mankind in general and the church in particular.Is that what we are witnessing today? Only time will tell. One thing is absolutely certain, however: Our theology of the spirit world must fit thereality of contemporary human anguish. Particularly for us in the West, where materialism is the religion of many, and where occultism, Satanism,and the New Age movement flourish, a status-quo practical demonology will not do. With sexual abuse and even Satanic Ritual Abuse (SRA) ofchildren no longer a secret, but almost a national epidemic, status-quo counseling will do no longer.Demons flow where abuse flows. Demons flow where Satanism, Satanic occult practices, and the New Age movement flourish. Demons enter thebodies and lives of abused children, especially those who have experienced SRA, and of practicing New Agers. The church in the West will find itdifficult to bring salvation and healing to the survivors of such evil if it maintains its present status-quo, unworkable theology of experientialdemonology. This is true for both salvation and sanctification.

Worldwide, evil supernaturalism manifests itself in two major religions. Hinduism is shedding its traditional pacifism and becoming militant andmissionary. Elements of it thrive in the West in the form of the New Age movement. Islam too is on the rise, militant and missionary, increasinglyintolerant of other religions, especially Christianity. It is still the most powerful religious competitor of Christianity. Demonic activity is rampant inboth Hinduism and Islam.While much is being written in our day about spiritual warfare, the church is still basically ignorant of the spirit world. That ignorance is mostpronounced in the Western world, but it exists in the non-Western world also.Africans, Asians, Latin Americans, and the inhabitants of Oceania know intuitively the reality of the spirit world. They know invisible spiritualbeings both good and evil continually interact with human beings. They strive to maintain the right balance of relationships with the spirits to avoidharm by evil spirits and to gain help from the good spirits.What happens to their world view when they become Christians? It becomes confused. That confusion has at least a dual source: First, Westernmissionaries, though looked upon as experts about things spiritual, are primarily ignorant of the activity of the spirits. Second, their national churchleaders were trained in their ministry by missionaries ignorant of the spirit world. I was one such missionary.The unfortunate result worldwide is that, in general, our churches are filled with believers who are hurting through the activity of evil spirits.Many are Spirit-filled believers by anyones definition of that term. Yet a war rages inside of them and around them. Often areas of their lives are inbondage to feelings, thoughts, and practices not compatible with their Christian faith. They know something is wrong, but few suspect the possibilityof a direct demonic dimension to their problem. That was true with my daughter, Carolyn. But it was also true of me, her father. She was not the onlyvictim of spiritual warfare in our family. I was, also, because I was ignorant of the operations of the evil spirit world.Beyond our churches, effective worldwide evangelism is impeded by our having missed the biblical teaching regarding territorial spirits. Thesehigh-level principalities and powers hold whole people groups in their grip. How is their power broken (2 Cor. 4:34) so that people become free tochoose for or against Christ?Without doubt, Carolyns story and my comments have raised many questions in the minds of my readers. While the Bible contains a vast amountof material about Satan, his evil angels, demons, and evil spirits, we will often be left still questioning because of what the Scriptures do not reveal.For example, the Scriptures do not directly explain the origin of Satan and his demons. They do not explain the relationship between malfunctionsnatural to human personality and personality malfunctions caused supernaturally. We are left mostly on our own in these and many other areas. TheBible does not develop a doctrine of satanology or demonology as clear and complete as other teachings such as hamartology and soteriology.8I am not interested in simplistic answers to profound questions. Probably the reader shares my attitude at this point. I want to know all God wantsme to know within the natural limitations we possess as earthly human beings (1 Cor. 13:913). I only wish He wanted us to know more.I will attempt to explore the spirit world from four perspectives in this book. In Part One we will see how our world viewunderstanding of theultimate nature of realityaffects our view of spiritual warfare.9 Part Two looks at spiritual warfare from a theological perspective by examining theprogressive development of the spiritual warfare motif in both Old and New Testaments. Parts Three and Four approach the subject from anexegetical perspective, studying key passages of Scripture. While the Scriptures leave us without all the information we often feel we need, they saymore about spiritual warfare than most of us realize. Finally, Part Five examines spiritual warfare from a practical perspective, seeking to discover theimplications of our study for human life in general and the Christian life in particular. This section will perhaps be the most important of the book,but it should not be examined without studying the scriptural foundation that supports it.88 8. Satanology is the doctrine of Satan; demonology, that of demons; hamartology, the doctrine of sin; soteriology, the doctrineof salvation.99 9. Spiritual warfare is war with sin and sinful personalities. While all human beings are victims of spiritual warfare, its primarycombatants are God and His angels and children, who are opposed by Satan and his demons. It is warfare between the kingdomof God and the kingdom of the Devil.

PART ONE

World Views1World View ClashThe World Vision organization planned to dig a well for a needy African village called Walamo.1 They were warned not to go to the village becausethe most powerful marabout, or witch doctor, of the region had cursed it. They were told something bad would happen to them or their machinery ifthey tried to dig a well in the village under so strong a curse that people from other villages would not go there.The team went anyway. In time they dug a well which filled with sweet, pure water. The people of Walamo were ecstatic. Nearby villages heardof it and, convinced the curse had been broken, resumed trade with Walamo. When asked why nothing evil befell the workers or their equipment,they responded, Francoiss god is more powerful than the marabouts god.Francois, who led the drilling crew, was tempted to dismiss their views as pure superstition. The well had come in by understanding and workingwith the relevant scientific laws. The people, however, saw it as evidence of the superior power of Francoiss god. Two world views had clashed.2I am a missionary. A missionary leaves behind his own familiar culture and seeks to contextualize himself within a foreign culture.3 He does thisfor the sake of the gospel and out of love for God and for the people to whom he is sent. As fully as possible, he seeks to understand their world view.He faces a serious problem, however: He carries with him his own world view. James W. Sire in The Universe Next Door defines world view as aset of presuppositions (or assumptions) which we hold (consciously or unconsciously) about the basic make up of our world.4 The workingdefinition of world view I will use is even more basic: World view refers to ones basic assumptions about reality.Everyone holds world view assumptions whether or not they are reflective persons. All persons believe their own assumptions about reality arethe correct ones, or at least the best ones, for the present. All persons beliefs and behavior, in that order, are based upon their world view, whether ornot they are conscious of that fact.11 1. See Bryant Myers, The Excluded Middle, MARC Newsletter, June, 1991.22 2. World view has to do with ones personal or a groups collective view of reality. There are really then two realities. There isreality as God has made it and sees it. Then there is reality as we finite and imperfect human beings perceive it. My friendCharles Kraft writes that we see the world (both physical and all other aspects of it) as we have been taught to see it. It is part ofour world view to assume that our way of seeing the world is right. . . . We from Western nations bordering the North Atlantichave been taught or allowed to assume that our perception of reality is the same as the absolute REALITY itself. . . . This is theproblem of world view. Christianity With Power: Your World View and Your Experience With the Supernatural (Ann Arbor, Mich.:Vine Books, 1989), 2324.33 3. Contextualization is the process of adapting to a lifestyle or point of view different from our own to such a degree that ourbehavior becomes normal for the new context in which we find ourselves. It is an essential part of cross-cultural living andministry.44 4. James W. Sire, The Universe Next Door (Downers Grove, Ill.: Intervarsity, 1976), 17.

1.2.3.4.5.

While world view is closely related to religion, the two are not identical. Paul Hiebert affirms that a world view provides people with their basicassumptions about reality. Religion provides them with the specific content of this reality.5 If one holds to an atheistic world view, atheism functionsas a religion.Aside from the agnostic position, only two conceivable world views exist. The spiritualistic world view affirms that ultimate reality is spiritual:immaterial, not physical or material. According to this view, whether ultimate reality is looked upon as personal or impersonal, it is spiritual. The vastmajority of the worlds more than five billion inhabitants hold to some form of a spiritualistic world view. Intellectually convinced atheists are veryrare even in Western and in Marxist societies. Ours is not a world of philosophical materialists, but of convinced spiritualists.This common spiritualistic world view gives the church a beginning point with most of humanity. Even the present occult explosion within theWestern world is advantageous at this point. We can say to the occultist, You are basically correct in your view of reality at one major point.Humans exist as spiritual beings, and not merely as material ones.Second, the materialistic or naturalistic world view affirms that ultimate reality is material or physical, not spiritual. This view assumes that alllife generated spontaneously from non-life and that by this process primitive single-celled life forms evolved over vast periods of time into the vastrange of life as we know it today.6Five important conclusions result from this view of reality:7The universe is a cosmic accident that has no ultimate purpose.Human life is a biological accident that has no ultimate significance.Life ends forever at death for each individual life form.Mind has no separate existence or survival apart from brain.Humanitys intuitive, historic belief in an ultimate mind, spirit, or God behind, within, and outside of the physical universe is a form of selfdeception. Thus, humanitys corresponding belief in human uniqueness, dignity, purpose, and survival beyond death is a non-real view of reality.No wonder life is so empty to intellectually convinced but honest atheists. The word honest is important because most atheists do not want tohonestly face the nihilistic implications of their world view. When they do, death would be better than life because it leads to eternal non-existence.Western theology has been influenced by the Western world view more than most of us are aware of. By Western theology I mean the broad,generally accepted interpretations of Scripture embodied in mainstream works of systematic theology, covering the broad range of theologicalviewpoints and ecclesiastical groupings one finds among all believers who hold to a high view of Scripture and propagate a common historicChristian faith.By Western world view8 I mean the view of reality that arose out of the historical movement of the eighteenth century called the Enlightenment. Itis often summed up in one word, naturalism. Sire traces the historical swing from theism to naturalism, and by way of deism, to nihilism.9 Onescholar defines methodological naturalism as the name for that characteristic of scientific method which constructs its pattern of thought on the basisof natural causation as distinguished from a supernatural or occult explanation.1055 5. Paul Hiebert, Cultural Anthropology (Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott Company, 1976), 371.66 6. For an excellent and scholarly presentation and critique of this process by a reputable Christian scientist, see A. E. WilderSmith, Mans Origin, Mans Destiny (Wheaton, Ill.: Harold Shaw, 1974).77 7. For a critique of this view see Arthur C. Custance, The Mysterious Matters of Mind (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 1980).88 8. For an excellent discussion of the inescapable tension between ones limited personal or group world view, Western worldviews, and key elements of a biblical world view, see Charles Kraft, Christianity With Power.99 9. Sire, 66.1010 10. Vergilius Ferm, ed., An Encyclopedia of Religion (New York: The Philosophical Library, 1945), 518.

This Western world view arches over almost all of the many diverse world view variations within the Western world, and is closely allied to thescientific method. Such a method, when adopted as ones model for reality, views the universe as a uniform system based strictly on the cause-andeffect relationships between its constituent parts, each in a determinate relationship one to the other, utterly closed to any dimensions of reality thattranscend the natural. Sire observes that history thus becomes a linear system of events linked by cause and effect but without an overarchingpurpose.11 Thus, naturalism explains everything on the basis of impersonal natural and therefore predictable causes that account for all of reality.How does all of this affect our study of spiritual warfare? Although we Christians have rightly rejected naturalism as an acceptable view ofultimate reality and hold faithfully to historic theism, naturalism nonetheless deeply influences our view of the daily events of our lives. Thisinfluence helps shape our view of the world of spirit beings, both benevolent and evil. Anthropologist Paul G. Hiebert of Trinity Evangelical DivinitySchool writes of his own struggles in this area as a missionary to India in an article entitled The Flaw of the Excluded Middle.12Johns disciples asked, Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another? (Luke 7:20). Jesus answered not with logical proofs, but by a demonstration ofpower in the curing of the sick and casting out of evil spirits. So much is clear. Yet when I read the passage as a missionary in India, and sought to apply it tomissions in our day, I had a sense of uneasiness.As a Westerner, I was used to presenting Christ on a basis of rational arguments, not by evidences of His power in the lives of people who were sick, possessed anddestitute. In particular, the confrontation with spirits that appeared so natural a part of Christs ministry belonged in my mind to a separate world of the miraculousfar from ordinary everyday experience.

Hiebert then presents the following diagram which reflects the Western Christian view of reality, a by-product of our Western theology:

sight and experience

natural orderthis-worldly problemssecular

He comments:13The reasons for my uneasiness with the biblical and Indian world views should now be clear. I had excluded the middle level of supernatural but this-worldlybeings and forces from my own world view. As a scientist I had been trained to deal with the empirical world in naturalistic terms. As a theologian, I was taught toanswer ultimate questions in theistic terms. For me the middle zone did not really exist. Unlike Indian villagers, I had given little thought to spirits of this world, tolocal ancestors and ghosts, or to the souls of animals. For me these belonged to the realm of fairies, trolls and other mythical beings. Consequently, I had noanswers to the questions they raised.

1111 11. Sire, 66.

In The Excluded Middle, an article published in the MARC Newsletter, Bryant Myers expands Hieberts concept of a two-tiered world. Hepoints out that the most important feature of this Enlightenment world view is that the spiritual and real worlds do not touch. . . . This is the majordifference when we compare the western world view to how traditional folk understand their world.Myers further explains that most traditional religionsbelieve the world is a continuum between those elements of the world which are mostly spiritual in nature and those which are mostly material. . . . There is no gapbetween the two worlds. The spiritual and physical co-exist together, inseparable parts of each other. 14

According to Myers, there is a middle part of the traditional word view, a level of reality comprising witch doctors, shamans, curses, idols,household gods, and the evil eye. This spiritual part of reality operates in the material world and is rejected, or excluded, by the Western world view.

To traditional peoples there is no natural-versus-supernatural dichotomy. The supernatural directly involves the natural. Traditional peoples live inthe middle zone. That is why much of our preaching and teaching seem to have little relevance to their daily life. We explain sickness on the basis ofgerms, nutrition, and related factors. They explain sickness on the basis of curses, the evil eye, witchcraft, or karma, all set against them.Myers then applies this difference in world views to evangelism and missions:15Christians in the west believe that God and Jesus Christ are part of the world of high religion, and that others are wrong to believe in Allah or some other high god.This means we believe that the critical question for evangelism is Whose god is the true god?. . . .For people who still hold a largely traditional view of the world, the critical question is not What is true? as much as it is Who is the most powerful? After all,it is the stuff in the excluded middle that affects their lives for good or ill. This means that news about a God whose Spirit is more powerful than curses, witchdoctors and demons is very attractive. This is one of the reasons the Charismatic and Pentecostal movements are growing as fast as they are today.

Francois, whom we met at the opening of this chapter, found himself in the excluded middle in the well-drilling incident. He could have revertedto the two-tiered view of reality in explaining the well of pure water to the people of Walamo. He could have told them that God was not involvedbecause the well was part of the natural world of science, natural laws, and technology. He could have dismissed their view as pure superstition. Hecould have tried to impose his secular Western world view upon the traditional world view held by the villagers.1414 14. Myers, 3.1515 15. Myers, 4.

He could have, but he didnt.

Francois understood about the excluded middle. He realized that the people probably now saw him as a shaman more powerful than the sorcerer.He had to bridge the two world views and help the people understand, in Myers words, the difference between the idea of Francoiss god and theGod of Francois. Their world view needed to be challenged by a biblical or kingdom framework, not a secularizing Enlightenment one. Francoisexplained that he did not own a god or have any power of his own. He was not a shaman; he had no magic. He was only a servant of the one true Godwho was more powerful than the shamans and western science. This God created a world that was rational and understandable, and created humanminds with the ability to figure out where the water was likely to be.16In his explanation, Francois challenged both the Western world view and the traditional world view of the Walamos. Neither is completelyharmonious with the biblical world view. The traditional world view, while closer to the biblical view, is like the Western world view, also filled witherror.17 It is polytheistic, pantheistic, magical, and animistic, and in these ways completely contrary to biblical revelation. In spite of these errors, thetraditional view stands closer to the biblical world view because it fully acknowledges the reality of the spirit world.As we will see in detail in future chapters, in the Bible the spirit world is real, alive, and everywhere invading daily life. It is portrayed in both theOld and New Testaments but more vividly in the New, where Christ and his followers engage evil supernaturalism intensely and triumph decisively.Nor did awareness of such dimensions of the spirit world and of conflict with evil spirits die with the apostolic church. The post-apostolic fatherstook the realm of the demonic so seriously that they automatically took new converts from paganism through rites of deliverance from evilsupernaturalism, a practice we have lost to our own detriment.18Effective ministry in our day demands that we must recover the knowledge and experience of the spirit world that the early church possessed. Wemust relearn the forgotten art of spiritual warfare. Probably not since the days of the apostolic and patristic churches has there occurred the presentrevival of evil supernaturalism that we are experiencing today. The Western world is being shaken by what Michael Green has called an occultexplosion.19Overseas the story is the same. Western missionaries gave birth to most of the mother churches of Asia, Africa, Latin America, and Oceania.These missionaries believed that demons were automatically kept in check by Christs defeat of Satan on the Cross and by His resurrection. Evilsupernaturalism, while recognized, was seldom openly challenged and defeated through power encounter.20 In missionary work among animists or1616 16. Myers, 4.1717 17. Traditional world view is often described as not believing in germs or science of any form but only in spirit forcesoperating directly, every moment of the day, in nature until nature has become almost totally unpredictable. BronislawMalinowski in his classic Magic, Science and Religion (Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday Anchor, 1954), 1736, denies that thetraditionalist holds to a totally mystical world view. On the contrary, he says, traditional people understand the differencebetween religion, magic, and science. By observation they have created a true science by which they also live their lives. Whileadmitting malevolent spirits can interfere in the course of nature, they do not attribute all negative experience as necessarilycoming directly from evil spirits or angry ancestral ghosts.1818 18. J. Warwick Montgomery, Exorcism: Is It For Real?, Christianity Today (July 26, 1974). Jeffrey Burton Russell of theUniversity of California in Santa Barbara, California, traces the development of satanology and demonology up through the 5thcentury A.D. In his book Satan: The Early Christian Tradition (Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 1987), he begins with theapostolic fathersClement of Rome, Ignatius, Polycarp, Papias, and othersand continues through the age of Augustine. Hegraphically describes the activity within the post- first century Church of the Order of Exorcists.1919 19. Michael Green, I Believe in Satans Downfall (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1981), 112.2020 20. Power encounter, mentioned earlier in the Introduction, is a crisis point of encounter in the on-going spiritual warfarebetween supernatural personages in which Christians are directly involved. Its goal is the glory of God, the defeat of the no-

spirit worshippers, the first generation of converts was and is often won through power demonstrations on the part of God through His servants.Following conversion, however, no biblically nor culturally relevant theology of the demonic world or power encounter is usually developed for thenew converts. Most of the intuitive recognition of and fear of the world of evil spirits, ghosts, and the spirits of the ancestors or of animals held by thehost cultures is regarded as superstition. It is thus relegated to the unreal and becomes something to be ignored in Christian living and evangelism.National Christians often feel timid in speaking of the old ways. They usually do not receive from their spiritual fathers, the missionaries, anadequate biblical and functional theology of the spirit world, power encounter, and spiritual warfare. They are left unprepared for the spiritual warfareinto which they are being thrust as Christians.But today national Christians everywhere are asking questions for which adequate answers are not forthcoming: Can true believers bedemonized? If so, what can be done to set them free?What can Satan through his demons (Eph. 6:1020) do against true believers? Can believers be hurt by demons? Can Satan severely injurebelievers physically, emotionally, and even spiritually? Can he kill believers?What about our churches? they ask. Can evil spirits work their way into positions of power and quench the flow of the Spirit and His gifts?Can they counterfeit the gifts of the Holy Spirit? How can such demonic strongholds be recognized and broken?What about the place of evil supernaturalism in evangelism? Do high level spirit princes of evil rule territorially? Can they so oppress andcontrol individuals, communities, peoples, and even nations that the Word of God does not take root, but rather is rejected or expelled?21These questions spring out of the concrete experiences of our Christian brothers and sisters in other cultures. The answers, however, can not onlyhelp non-Western Christians but also awaken us in the West to the cross-cultural reality of evil supernaturalism, whose manifestation in the currentoccult explosion has surprised many of us. Our surprise reveals our world view blindness.To see people who are immersed in demonized cultures be set free by the gospel; to truly and completely deliver men, women, and children fromthe kingdom of Satan and bring them into the kingdom of God; and to minister to believers who are still subject to abuse by the spirits, we Christianleaders must relearn the spirit world. We must remove our Western-world view eyeglasses, which blind us to the biblical view of the spirit world, andbe willing to become incarnate into the same world into which our Lord entereda world of deadly spiritual warfare.

2The Spiritual Warfare Dimension of a Biblical World ViewAll the writers of Scripture, regardless of their divergent cultural contexts, held to a common theistic world view. Furthermore, all the Scripturewriters held to a common view of God. The God revealed in the earliest chapters of Genesis is the same God revealed throughout the entire Old andNew Testament. He is both transcendent (Gen. 1:1) and immanent (Gen. 3:8). He is never seen as a localized tribal deity but as the creator of theheavens and the earth (Gen. 1:1f). While Abraham and the nation of Israel are called to restore His name on earth, He is, from the beginning,revealed as the God of all the peoples of the earth (Gen. 12:3; 14:1920).H. B. Kuhn, Professor of Philosophy of Religion at Asbury Theological Seminary, traces the progressive unfolding of dimensions of Godspersonality and His relationship both to creation and to His people which are found in the different names by which God reveals Himself in the Oldgods (Gal. 4:89), and the obedience of men to the one true God and His only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ (John 1:14,16;3:16; 1 John 4:910). Much is being written today about power encounter. See the bibliography for several outstanding books andarticles dealing with this area of spiritual warfare.2121 21. The question of territorial spirits seems to be causing considerable controversy and opposition among Christians today.Some of it is justified by the careless, unscriptural, and shallow way these spirits are dealt with by some Christian leaders.However, the Bible does speak of spirits who exercise control over peoples and geographical areas.

Testament in an excellent encyclopedia article.1 According to Kuhn, Gods self-revelation to His people revolves around four central names: El,Elohim, Adonai, and Yahweh. Most of His other names are compound names built upon these four.The name El is one of the oldest designations for deity in the Bible and the entire ancient world. It became the general name for God inBabylonia, Arabia, and the land of Canaan, as well as the Israelitish peoples.2 Kuhn comments that El connotes not only the idea of might but also theidea of transcendence. Kuhn calls Elohim, the plural name for God, the plural of intensity. It is used over 2,000 times in the Old Testament to refer toIsraels God. It is frequently used with the article (ha-elohim), meaning the one true God. The third primary name by which God reveals Himself,Adonai, does not seem to have been in common use among Semitic peoples generally. It was used mainly by the Hebrews.Kuhn then writes about Gods fourth and final primary name of self-revelation, Yahweh, a name unique with the Israelites:3The other Semitic peoples do not seem to have known it or at least did not use it in reference to the Deity except as contacts with the Hebrew people brought it totheir attention. It was the special property of the covenant people.

It was in the Exodus story that God gave this name as His covenant name between Himself and His people (Exod. 3:1315). Thus from this timeonward the events of the Exodus formed the core of the Hebrew proclamation: I am Yahweh your God (Elohim) who brought you out of the land ofEgypt, out of the house of bondage (Exod. 20:2).4 Kuhn observes thatGod has taken the initiative in restoring the knowledge-bond which existed between God and fallen man, a bond which was fractured by the Fall. And it wasthrough His revelation to Israel of Himself under the name of Yahweh or Jehovah that the unfolding of saving history became visible. The unveiling of Godsnature by the giving of His name to Israel was of supreme significance to the entire Biblical system.

All through the Old Testament, Israels God is declared to be the only true God. He is the God of creation. He is the Lord of all, even of thenations, though the latter are seen as in rebellion against Him, having degenerated from monotheism into polytheism, idolatry, and immorality. (Thisprocess was devolution, not evolution.) The three almost always go together. The Scriptures reveal that the gods of the nations are no-gods. They arenot realities in themselves. They are powerless to save their followers. In essence they are demons who manipulate the pagan god systems andactually receive the homage paid to the no-gods (Lev. 17:7; Deut. 32:17; Ps. 106:37, cf. 1 Cor. 10:2021).Thus it is possible to speak of a biblical world view when it comes to the person of God Himself. While admitting the progressive nature of Godsdisclosure of Himself to humanity after the Fall, He is the same God who had established personal relationships with man before the Fall. In thatsense, His self-disclosure has never varied. He was then what He is now. He Himself affirms, I am the LORD, I do not change (Mal. 3:6).It could be objected that the biblical world view is far more extensive than my presentation. I am aware of that. However, my world view study islimited to its relationship to spiritual warfare and to six key dimensions of a biblical world view that impinge on our study of spiritual warfare.A SPIRITUAL WORLD VIEWThe fundamentally spiritual character of ultimate reality represents the broadest possible dimension of a biblical world view. As alreadymentioned, the Bible and Christians share this perspective with the vast majority of the worlds over five billion inhabitants.A THEISTIC WORLD VIEW

James Sires world view study first points out the historic swing within Western culture from theism to deism to naturalism. 5 The rest of his bookrecords the continuing movement within Western culture from naturalism to nihilism, to existentialism, to Eastern pantheistic monism, to what hecalls the new consciousness. I would label it by its better known name, the New Age movement.6Edward T. Ramsdwell, writing in Ferms Encyclopedia of Religion, states that the term theism means more than monotheism. Theism connotessomething more than mere contrast with polytheism. The essential ideas behind theism are that of a God who is both one and personal. He is alsoboth transcendent (apart from the universe as its creator and sustainer) yet immanent as everywhere present and accessible to humanity.7 Biblicaltheism declares that God is a true person and the only truly perfect person. As such He possesses perfect mind. He knows all. He has perfectemotions. He loves with a perfect love and hates with a perfect hatred: His perfect love makes heaven possible; His perfect hatred makes hell areality. He possesses perfect will. He chooses what He wills and what He chooses will eventually come to pass.This high view of God contrasts directly with both pantheism and polytheism. Pantheism is the doctrine that the universe, the all of reality isGod . . . the cosmic whole is equated with God . . . all is God.8 Pantheism has made a resurgence in the so-called secular society of the West in theNew Age movement. The declarations of actress Shirley MacLaine and other exponents of the movement reflect a pantheistic world view. If youdont see me as God, says MacLaine, it is because you dont see yourself as God.9 You are God. You are each and every one, part of the secondcoming, says the extraterrestrial being named Soli, speaking through his channel, Neville Rowe.10Polytheism is the belief in and worship of a plurality of gods. Polytheism and its by-product, idolatry, became the prevalent religious view of theancient biblical world after the fall. It was out of the polytheism and idolatry of Ur of the Chaldeans that God called Abraham. Israels most persistentspiritual battle was the fight to maintain itself pure from the polytheism and idolatry of its neighbors. It was a battle that Israel often failed to win. Injudgment God immersed His fickle people in the very heartland of polytheism and idol worship during the Exile. After the return to the land of Israel,the nation never again was tantalized by the immoral luxuries of polytheism and idolatry.It is important to note that Christians share this theistic, spiritual world view in common with both Jews and Moslems. This common pointbecomes the beginning of Christian witness to members of these two great theistic religions.A REVELATIONAL WORLD VIEWChristian theism is based on divine revelation, not on human intuition. Christians do not believe in the one true God as a product of humanintuition or common sense. We know what we know about God only because He has chosen to reveal Himself to humanity.The writer to the Hebrewsdeclares that God at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets (Heb. 1:1).The apostle Paul writes to young Timothy:Continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known theHoly Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitablefor doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. (2 Tim.3:1417)

We Christians share some dimensions of this world view in common with both Jews and Moslems, since they too hold that the Old Testament isthe Word of God. They do not, however, believe this is true of the New Testament.A TRINITARIAN WORLD VIEW55 5. Kuhn, 762.66 6. James W. Sire, The Universe Next Door (Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity, 1978), 2127.77 7. Edward T. Ramsdwell in Vergilius Ferm, ed., An Encyclopedia of Religion (New York: The Philosophical Library, 1945), 714.88 8. Ferm, 557; see also Sire, 129148.99 9. Shirley MacLaine, interview. Time (December 7, 1987), 64.1010 10. Time, 66.

The one true personal God exists as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Matt. 28:19; Rom. 5:1, 5; 15:30; 2 Cor. 13:14). While the Trinity is nowherespecifically stated in the New Testament, it is everywhere implied. We know this because of the second and final phase of Gods self-revelation. Aswe have already seen, the writer of Hebrews declares that God at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by theprophets (Heb. 1:1). Hebrews 1:2 continues saying, [God] has in these last days spoken to us by His Son.The verses which follow declare that His Son is [the one] through whom also He made the worlds. They declare further that the Son is thebrightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholds all things by the word of His power.Next, after declaring Jesus to be His Son, God declares:Let all the angels of God worship Him.But to the Son He says:Your throne, O God, is forever and ever . . .You, LORD, in the beginning laid the foundation of theearth,And the heavens are the work of Your hands.They will perish, but You remain;And they will all grow old like a garment;Like a cloak You will fold them up,And they will be changed.But You are the same,And Your years will not fail.(Heb. 1:23,6,8,1012)

The Trinity becomes a further limiting dimension of a biblical world view. It is at this point that we Christians separate from Jews or Moslems.Most Jews consider Jesus as an impostor, or at best, as a misguided Jewish reformer. Moslems have a higher view of Jesus. They declare Him to beone of the greatest of the prophets, second only to the last and greatest of the prophets, Mohammed.The Koran calls Jesus the Spirit of God and even the Word of God. Moslems, however, strongly reject his title as the Son of God. He wasnot divine, or God, they affirm, but only a man like the other great prophets of God: Noah, Abraham, Moses, David and, finally Mohammed, the lastand greatest.11A REDEMPTIVE WORLD VIEWGods revelation is primarily centered on redemption. It focuses on Gods activity to bring men and women back to Himself after the Fall. Themoment people sin, God comes to them. He not only comes to humanity in judgment for their rebellion against the lordship of God (Gen. 3:1619),but He also comes to them in redemption. He provides the original sinful pair with clothes to cover one of the results of their sin, a sense of shame oftheir nakedness (Gen. 3:21). Most important of all, He promises a redeemer to free them from bondage to their new master, the serpent, whom welater know as the Devil or Satan (Gen. 3:15). The rest of the Bible from Genesis 4 through Revelation 22 is the story of Gods providing redemptionfor sinful men and women.A biblical world view must thus be a redemptive world view. Indeed, the closing chapters of Gods revelation focus on the joys of the redeemedpeople of God forever in the presence of God in all His glory and the Lamb in all His majesty (Rev. 2122).The Christian reader who holds to a high view of the Old and New Testament Scriptures probably will not have found himself in majordisagreement with anything found in these world view considerations, at least up to this point. What I have stated thus far represents the historic viewof biblical Christianity. There is, however, one more major biblical world view dimension which must be presented. For the purpose of our study this1111 11. Howard F. Vos, Religions in a Changing World (Chicago: Moody, 1959), 8384.

is the most vivid, dynamic, and all-pervading biblical world view dimension. At the same time it is probably the most neglected, least understood,and least applied to our Christian life and ministry.A SPIRITUAL WARFARE WORLD VIEWThis biblical world view dimension can be expressed in one statement: present reality exists in a state of cosmic-earthly conflict or spiritualwarfare. In philosophical terms, modified dualism exists in the universe. The kingdom of God and the kingdom of evil supernaturalism are engagedin fierce conflict one against the other. Absolute dualism affirms that ultimate reality is eternally dualistic, that evil and good have always existed, andalways will exist.12 Biblical dualism declares a modified dualism: present reality exists in a state of dualism, but such was not so in the beginning norwill it be so in the future. In the beginning God . . . is the view of Scripture. There was no evil, no opposing force, only God, and God is good.Then God created moral beings, the angels, and placed them within His kingdom. Still there was no dualism. They obeyed His will. At some point inthe hidden past, rebellion occurred within the angelic kingdom. Dualism was born. Evil entered Gods kingdom, dividing it into two kingdoms, thekingdom of God and the kingdom of Satan. This is the biblical view of the distant past.As the focus of Scripture moves through time from the eternal past to the eternal future, dualism vanishes. The ultimate state is that of eternalmonism. Only God and His perfect kingdom will exist in the eternal future. (The very concept of eternity past and eternity future presents an apparentcontradiction to our minds. Can that which is eternal truly have a past and a future? Such words are helpful, however, to talk of the past and thefuture.)Dualism, however, is a present reality. The universe exists in a state of cosmic-earthly conflict or spiritual warfare. Cosmic dualism is a reality:spiritual warfare exists in heaven. Earthly dualism is a reality: spiritual warfare rages on earth.13Some dimensions of this warfare world view are recognized and described in different ways by different people. Some speak of the strugglebetween good and evil. Others talk of the battle between right and wrong, or between light and darkness. Still others refer to the conflict between thepositive forces which seek to preserve life and order in the universe and the negative forces which tend to disturb and even destroy life and order.From a biblical perspective, however, this dualism is revealed to be an on-going conflict waged on two fronts: God and His angelic kingdom confrontSatan and his demonic kingdom, while the children of God contend with the children of Satan. To understand and further equip ourselves for thiscosmic-earthly struggle, we must explore the realms of theology, biblical exegesis, and the experience of the people of God.

PART TWO

Theological ConsiderationsSECTION I

The Origin and Scope of Spiritual Warfare

1212 12. This is the theology of the New Age movement. It is the theology made popular by the Star Wars series of films. TheForce, i.e., God, is both good and bad. (See chapter 62 for a study on the New Age.)1313 13. For excellent popular presentations of this dimension of reality see my friend Frank Perettis excellent books, This PresentDarkness (Westchester, Ill.: Crossway, 1986) and Piercing the Darkness (Westchester, Ill.: Crossway, 1989).

3Cosmic RebellionThe Problem of EvilSpiritual warfare is an evil issue. Warfare in itself is evil. If evil did not exist there would be no warfare of any kind. Evil is the most perplexingproblem ever faced by humanity. Thinking men have been facing it for millennia. The Greek philosopher, Epicurus (341270 B.C.), quoted by thephilosopher Lactantius (260340 A.D.), is supposed to have written thatGod either wishes to take away evils, and is unable; or he is able and unwilling; or he is neither willing nor able, or he is both willing and able. If he is willing andis unable, he is feeble, which is not in accordance with the character of God; if he is able and unwilling, he is envious, which is equally at variance with God; if heis neither willing nor able he is both envious and feeble, and therefore not God; if he is both willing and able, which alone is suitable to God, from what sourcethen are evils? or why does he not remove them? 1

This was the problem that kept the great C. S. Lewis bound to the shackles of atheism for most of his life. He writes about it in his provocativebook, The Problem of Pain.2 As Lewis recounts his former defense of atheism, he graphically describes the evil and misfortune which faces allhuman beings. He concludes:If you ask me to believe that this is the work of a benevolent and omnipotent spirit, I reply that all the evidence points in the opposite direction. Either there is nospirit behind the universe, or else a spirit indifferent to good and evil, or else an evil spirit.

Lewis response to his former line of reasoning is interesting.

I never noticed that the very strength and facility of the pessimists case at once poses us a problem. If the universe is so bad, or even half so bad, how on earth didhuman beings ever come to attribute it to the activity of a wise and good Creator? Men are fools, perhaps; but hardly so foolish as that. . . . At all times, then, aninference from the course of events in this world to the goodness and wisdom of the Creator would have been equally preposterous; and it was never made. 3Religion has a different origin.

Lewis footnote mentions the word theodicy. It comes from the Greek theos, God, and dike, justice. Webster defines theodicy as the defense ofGods goodness and omnipotence in view of the existence of evil.Edgar S. Brightman, Professor of Philosophy of the Graduate School of Boston University, defines theodicy as the attempt to justify the way ofGod to man, that is, to solve the problem of evil in the light of faith in the love and justice of God.4The problem of evil is obviously more acute for theism than for any other type of philosophy or theology; if it cannot be solved, theism must be abandoned,retained by faith in hope of a future, as yet unattainable, solution, or held as a truth above reason.

C. S. Lewis would probably agree that the solution is presently unattainable. He would declare that the truths behind theism are truths above andbeyond present human reason. As Pascal is attributed to have affirmed, the heart has reasons that the mind knows not of. Lewis is correct thattheodicy is not something new, adequately wrestled with only in the modern scientific age. Indeed, Gnosticism, the greatest division to arise withinthe early patristic church, was centered on this issue of evil in Gods universe.

11 1. William Dyrness, Christian Apologetics in a World Community (Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity, 1983), 153.22 2. C. S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain (London: Fontana, 1962), 1f.33 3. . . . that is, never made at the beginnings of a religion, Lewis writes in a footnote. After belief in God has been accepted,theodicies explaining, or explaining away, the miseries of life, will naturally appear often enough, Lewis, 4.44 4. E. S. Brightman in An Encyclopedia of Religion, Vergilius Ferm, ed. (New York: The Philosophical Library, 1943), 264.

In Satan: the Early Christian Tradition, Jeffrey Burton Russell explains that Gnosticism probably had its roots as far back at least to the Qumrancommunity with its theology of cosmic conflict between good and evil.5 Yet Gnosticism was essentially a Christian attempt at theodicy which wentastray. It threatened to split the post-apostolic church by the middle of the second century. Most of the apologetic writings of the early fathers weredirected against this devastating heresy. Gnosticism thus performed a long-range service to the church by provoking thought on the problem of evil,especially by the great apologetistsJustin Martyr, Tatian, Athenagoras, Theophilus, Irenaeus, and Tertullian.6By bringing the question of theodicy front and center, the Gnostics forced the fathers to devise a coherent diabology, which had been lacking in New Testamentand apostolic thought. Gnostic emphasis upon the power of the Devil caused the fathers to react by defining his power carefully; Gnostic stress upon the evil of thematerial world elicited their defense of the essential goodness of the world created by God.

Perhaps the most complex and profound dimension of the spiritual warfare view of present reality has to do with the origin of that conflict. It didnot originate on earth with the fall of man. The Bible is clear on that point. Did it originate somewhere or sometime in the heavenly realm, evidentlybefore the creation of man? This seems to be the case.7 The Old Testament clearly hints at cosmic rebellion against the rule of God by frequentreference to evil, supernatural beings which seek to injure men and lead them away from a life of obedience to God.8We cannot begin with Genesis 3 because the serpent who tempts Eve is nowhere called a supernatural being in the Old Testament. The NewTestament, however, clearly identifies him as the Devil and Satan (2 Cor. 11:3; Rev. 12:9). One point is certain: at least by the intertestamental period,when Genesis 3 was read and explained to Jewish listeners by Jewish teachers, the serpent was identified with Satan. The New Testamentinterpretation of the fall of man and that of the Jews is identical at this point.9 While references to Satan are not as common in the Old Testament asthey are in the New, Satan is mentioned several times: once in 1 Chronicles, fourteen times in Job 1 and <2, once in Psalm 109:6, and three times inZechariah 3:12.Satans Pattern of OperationSatans first recorded appearance by name is found in 1 Chronicles 21:1. This passage reveals his attempt to draw David, a man of God, intodisobedience to God. It suggests a pattern of operation against humanity found all through Scripture, discovered throughout history, and experiencedby believers and unbelievers everywhere in our day. In it we find Satans main strategy, his primary target, and his essential purpose.Deception, the StrategyFirst, we unveil Satans main strategy of temptation, deception. The writer recounts that Satan moved David to number Israel (v. 1). (See 2Samuel 24:1 for a typically Old Testament view of the divine side of this Satanic temptation.) David, like Eve before him, had no idea of the origin of55 5. Jeffrey Burton Russell, Satan: The Early Christian Tradition (Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 1987b), 51ff.66 6. Russell, 53.77 7. For the reader who wants to pursue the problem of evil and theodicy in greater detail, I would recommend the following:William Dyrness, Christian Apologetics in a World Community; S. Paul Schilling, God and Human Anguish (Nashville: Abingdon,1977); M. Scott Peck, The People of the Lie: The Hope for Healing Human Evil (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1983); and EdwardJ. Carnell, An Introduction to Christian Apologetics (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1948).88 8. As we will later see, the Bible was written to a world thoroughly knowledgeable of the spirit world, of a devil, fallen angels,and other evil cosmic-spiritual beings. Since their existence was universally accepted, it was not necessary to prove or explaintheir origin, existence, or involvement in human affairs. The biblical revelation about evil supernaturalism simply builds upon,corrects, and expands upon what was already known. See Merrill F. Unger, Biblical Demonology (Chicago: Scripture Press, 1955)and Jeffrey Burton Russell, The Devil: Perceptions of Evil from Antiquity to Primitive Christianity (Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell UniversityPress, 1987).99 9. For further study see Russell, Devil, 174220. This book provides valuable background to the understanding of evilsupernaturalism prevalent in both the Old and New Testaments.

the thoughts which suddenly appeared in his mind. As he reflected upon them they seemed to be correct, logical, the thing to do. While hisconscience evidently disturbed him (v. 8), he went ahead with his plan. What David proposed to do was wrong. It was so wrong that even Joab, hismilitary commander, who was no saint by anyones standards, saw the wrongness of Davids decision and voiced his opposition to it (vv. 24).It was so wrong that when Gods judgment fell upon Israel, David knew he was at fault and immediately repented of his wrongdoing (v. 8). Ihave sinned greatly, he confessed. Take away the iniquity of Your servant, for I have done very foolishly.Here we discover what we will find all through the Bible. Human sin always has a dual source. It has a human source, ones wrong choices. But italso has a supernatural source, Satans temptations. He plants the seeds of evil thoughts and imaginations into human minds and hearts, intensifyingthe evil already there (Acts 5:13; 1 Cor. 7:5; 2 Cor. 11:3; 1 Thess. 3:5; cf. 2 Cor. 10:35; Phil 4:8).The Scriptures speak much of deception. It takes Strongs Concordance two full columns to record the number of times the words and itsderivatives are found in the English Bible! The words occur over 150 times, spread equally throughout both Testaments. Vine says that deceptionessentially means giving a false impression.10 Thats how Satan approaches people, and that is evidently how he first approached his angelic peersto lead them in rebellion against God.Satan almost always begins with deceptionthus Pauls warning in 2 Corinthians 11:3 and his mention of Satans schemes in 2 Corinthians 2:11.However, once Satan has established a strong foothold in a persons life (Eph. 4:27), deception may no longer be so important. He will often unmaskhimself to torment and enslave his victims further.Leaders, the TargetSecond, we discover his main target for deception, leaders. In the case of those who do not love our God, he moves in deception against personsin all levels of leadership. Political, military, economic, religious, educational, media, family, and other kinds of leaders become the target of hisdeception. Why? Because they control the destiny of humanity.Someone has stated that if a solitary man sins, he alone may be affected. If a family man sins, his entire family is affected. If a community leadersins, the community is affected. If a leader over a given structure of a given society sins, the entire society is affected. If a national leader sins, theentire nation is affected. If a world leader sins, the whole world is affected. Who can forget Adolf Hitler!If a Christian leader sins, a church, a Christian institution, or a Christian home is damaged or possibly paralyzed. Who can argue with this? Weare all to some degree the victims of the sinful acts of Christian leaders exploited by the media to the discredit of Gods church.Dishonor, the PurposeThird, we discover the main purpose for his deception. It is to dishonor God by bringing shame and even judgment upon His children. Throughdeceiving Gods leader, David, Satan brought shame upon Gods people. He also indirectly caused Gods righteous judgment to fall upon His ownchildren (v. 7).Thus in this first recorded appearance of Satan by name in Scripture we discover the major features of his evil schemes against God and Hispeople. He is a deceiver who seeks to seduce the leaders of Gods people into actions of disobedience to God. He exists to dishonor God and injureHis people. The diabology of the rest of Scripture is but an expansion of these major features of evil supernaturalism.Belief About Evil Spirits Universal in AntiquityAs a study of ancient history reveals, belief in some form of evil supernaturalism was universal in the Old Testament world. The late Dr. MerrillF. Unger writes thatthe history of various religions from the earliest times shows belief in Satan and demons to be universal. According to the Bible, degeneration from monotheismresulted in the blinding of men by Satan and the most degrading forms of idolatry (Rom. 1:2132; 2 Cor. 4:4). By the time of Abraham (c. 2000 B.C.), men hadsunk into a crass polytheism that swarmed with evil spirits. Spells, incantations, magical texts, exorcisms, 11 and various forms of demonological phenomena1010 10. W. E. Vine, An Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words (London: Oliphants, 1953), 278279.

Unger continues, quoting Dr. George W. Gilmore in the Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, who says that the entire religionsprovenience out of which Hebrew religion sprang is full of demonism. Unger then states that early Christianity rescued its converts from theshackles of Satan and demons (Eph. 2:2; Col. 1:13). To an amazing degree the history of religion is an account of demon-controlled religion,particularly in its clash with the Hebrew faith and later with Christianity.Other hints of the belief in evil supernaturalism and cosmic rebellion held by the Jewish people can be found throughout the Old Testament. Theserpent as symbolic of an evil spiritual being or beings is mentioned many times (Gen. 3:124; Job 3:8; 41:1; Ps. 74:14; 104:26; Isa. 27:1).13 Evilspirits are spoken of some eight times, all involved in the demonization of Saul (1 Sam. 16:1423; 18:10; 19:9). Lying spirits are mentioned six times(1 Kings 22:2123). These verses must be studied in light of the full context, beginning with the first verse. Familiar spirits are also mentioned sixtimes (Lev. 20:27; 1 Sam. 28, KJV). The NAS translates the underlying Hebrew words one who has a familiar spirit, the KJV as one who is amedium.Unclean perverse spirits are referred to at least once (Isa. 19:1314, KJV). John D. W. Watts in his excellent commentary on Isaiah interprets theexpression as a spirit of distorting.14 Whether or not this refers to personal evil or simply an atmosphere of confusion is an open question. The falsecounsels and plans of Egypt, however, did come through divination. Thus, both meanings could be true.Spirits of religious and physical harlotry are mentioned several times. The most frequent references are in Hosea in conjunction with idolworship, divination, and Baalism. Demons as identical with the gods and idols of the pagan nations are referred to at least four times (Lev. 17:7;Deut. 32:17; 2 Chron. 11:15; Ps. 106:1939; cf. 1 Cor. 10:2021). Evil spirits who rule over territories and nations and fight against both Godsangels and His people are mentioned in the historical books, the Psalms, and Daniel. Daniel 10:1021 is the best known passage.15Key QuestionsAt least four important questions arise as we read these passages.Where did these evil, supernatural, created cosmic beings come from?The Old Testament is emphatic that they are not true gods (Gen. 1:1f; Isa.45:56; 2123). The Old Testament is equally emphatic that God did not create evil creatures. All He made was declared good (Gen. 12).Somehow, good creatures became bad in a cosmic rebellion that continues to have devastating effect on all of creation.Why are they always revealed to be Gods enemies, the enemies of mankind in general, and of Gods people in particular?Why do they incessantly seek to resist Gods purposes, corrupt His creation, defile and ensnare His people, and torment, afflict, and destroymankind? What is their purpose in authoring such evil?How is it that, while being Gods enemies, at the same time they are ultimately subject to Gods will? In other words, how is it that God uses them todefeat themselves and enhance mysterious, profound dimensions of Gods sovereign purposes (Gen. 3:1f; 1 Sam. 16:14; 18:10; 19:9; 1 Kings 22:2022; Isa. 19:1314)?1111 11. I do not use the term exorcism to refer to the Christians ministry of evicting demons from human lives. I usedeliverance and similar terms. Exorcism carries the idea of magic, incantations, and similar non-biblical practices.1212 12. Merrill F. Unger, Demons in the World Today (Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale, 1971), 10. Ungers three books (see bibliography) areimportant to an understanding of the spirit world within biblical cultures.1313 13. See H. L. Ellison, Leviathan, in ZPEB, Merrill C. Tenney, ed. (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 1977) 3:912.1414 14. John D. W. Watts, Isaiah 133, WBC (Waco, Texas: Word, 1985), 251.1515 15. The sudden emergence of strong opposition among some evangelicals to the contemporary attempt to understand theactivity of such evil spirits and to guide the people of God into warfare against them puzzles me. Fortunately for Daniel, suchopposition either was not forthcoming or was ignored by him.

The Old Testament hints that these invisible, evil, supernatural, created cosmic beings are fallen angelic creatures. Somewhere, sometime,evidently before the creation of mankind, they were led by a mighty angelic creature, perhaps called Lucifer, into rebellion against the lordship ofGod. Job 4:18 and Isaiah 24:21 seem to indicate this. Isaiah 14:1217 and Ezekiel 28:1119 are often used to refer to this cosmic rebellion. Whilethere is reason to doubt the validity of this traditional secondary interpretation (all agree the primary interpretation has to do with the king of Babylonand the leader of Tyre), it is consistent with the biblical picture of Satan and his fallen angels.When we come to the New Testament, however, the picture is much clearer. We are not left with mere hints of cosmic rebellion. Instead the NewTestament declares that such a rebellion did occur. From the Gospels to Revelation we confront spiritual warfare both in heaven and on earth. TheNew Testament opens with the world of evil supernaturalism in open confrontation with the Son of God. In the first chapter of Mark, Jesus confrontsSatan in His forty-day wilderness temptation (vv. 1213). Having won that initial and, in many ways, decisive battle with the enemy, Jesus launchesHimself into His public ministry.His synagogue ministry is interrupted by demonic resistance. Jesus quickly silences and dispatches the angry, fearful evil spirits (1:2126). In thesame chapter, before the sun had risen the next day, Jesus confronts and casts out demons late into the night (1:2934). The next day after His intensenighttime deliverance activity, Jesus begins His itinerant ministry. He visits the synagogues in city after city. Mark records that in these synagoguesJesus carried out a twofold activity. He was preaching and casting out the demons (1:39). Incredible! What a world of spiritual conflict!As Johns gospel story unfolds, for the first time in Scripture we are clearly told of the origin of evil. In John 8:44, Jesus says it originated withSatan. He informs us that He has come to bind Satan, break his power, and release those he holds captive (Luke 4:1119; Matt. 12:2229). Jesusreveals that Satan directs a mighty kingdom of evil. He has his own evil angels, just as God has His holy angels (Matt. 25:41). Next we discover thatthese angels are the same as the demon spirits who bind and oppress men (Matt. 12:2229; Luke 13:1016; Rev. 12:417; 13:1f).Levels of Authority in Satans KingdomAs the story of evil supernaturalism unfolds in the New Testament, we discover that there are different ranks of authority in Satans kingdom(Eph. 6:12 with Matt. 12:2445; Mark 5:29). Furthermore, demons, evil spirits, and fallen angels (all synonymous terms in this book) seem to fallinto at least four different classifications, not three as is often affirmed.First, there are those who are free to carry out Satans evil purposes. They inhabit the heavenlies (Eph. 3:10; 6:12) but also are free to operate onearth. These demon spirits afflict and even indwell the bodies of men (Matt. 12:4345).Second, there are rebellious angels who seem now to be bound in the abyss or pit.16 They will evidently be released at a future date and willwreck havoc on the earth (Rev. 9:212). Satan and all free demons will be bound in this same pit during the thousand-year reign of Christ on earth(Rev. 20:1f).Third, there seems to be another group of fallen angels which evidently became so wicked or were guilty of evil so horrendous they were notpermitted to exist in the heavenlies or on earth. They are bound forever, not in the abyss, but in hell. The Greek word is tartarus, incorrectlytranslated hell. Vine says that1616 16. The use of pit, bottomless pit, abyss, and deep to describe the underworld and the abode of some demons isvery confusing in the New Testament. Both the KJV and NAS translate the same Greek word abussos in different manners. The NEB ismore consistent using abyss for abussos. Vine says abussos is an adjective used as a noun denoting the abyss. It is a compoundof a, intensive and bussos, a depth. He says it describes an immeasurable depth, the underworld, the lower regions, the abyss ofSheol. Its reference in Luke 8:31 and Revelation (it is used seven times in Revelation) is to the lower regions as the abode ofdemons (I would qualify this with some demons), out of which they can be let loose, Revelation 9:1,2,11; 11:7; 17:8; 20:1,3.(Vine 1:142; see also W. L. Liefeld, Abyss, in ZPEB 1:3031.

Tartarus . . . is neither Sheol nor Hades nor Hell, but the place where those angels whose special sin is referred to in that passage (2 Peter 2:4) are confined to bereserved unto judgment. The region is described as pits of darkness. 17

1.2.3.4.5.6.7.

These spirits evidently will never be released. They seem to be held in darkness until the day of their judgment (2 Pet. 2:4; Jude 6).18Finally, there is a fourth group of evil angels who seem somehow to be bound within the earth, if we are to take the words literally. Four of themare mentioned as being bound at the river Euphrates. When they are released they will lead a demonic army of destruction against mankind (Rev.9:1321).19Paul tells the church at Corinth that believers will someday judge angels (1 Cor. 6:3). These must be fallen angels because Gods angels are calledthe holy angels (Mark 8:38). Thus the evidence that evil spirits and demons are rebellious angels mounts (see Job 4:18; Isa. 24:2122).Cosmic Conflict: Facts From the Future (Revelation 12)Revelation 12 speaks of a future day when there will be a final cosmic conflict between the angels of God under Michael and the angels of Satan(Rev. 12:3f). Even if one does not hold to a futuristic view of Revelation, this passage still reveals several undeniable facts.Satan rules over a kingdom of evil angels (vv. 37).This kingdom of evil supernaturalism opposes God and His kingdom (vv. 37).The kingdom of evil is defeated by the archangel Michael, who evidently serves as the commander of Gods holy angels and His angelic army (vv.78).Satan and his angels will be (or already have been) dethroned from their place of prominence in heaven (v. 9a).Satan and his angels will be (or already have been) cast down to earth to bring woe to mankind (vv. 9b,12b).The kingdom of evil supernaturalism is a kingdom of intense hatred against the people of God. They make war against those who keep thecommandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus (vv. 1317).Because the activity of these wicked angels is identical with that of the evil spirits and demons found in Scripture, they must represent the same evilcreatures.Even with this brief overview, one thing is certain. The New Testament clearly declares that sometime, somewhere, cosmic rebellion occurred. Avast army of angels evidently exercised their free will and chose to resist their God and Creator. That army of fallen angels has one master over them.He is called the great dragon . . . that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan. Their purpose is to deceive the whole world (Rev. 12:9) and waragainst the children of God (Rev. 12:1317).Sin, therefore, first originated with Satan, the Evil One (John 8:44). He next evidently deceived some of the angels into following him in rebellionagainst God. Together they form the cosmic kingdom of evil. One group of these fallen angels seems to constitute the demons, those evil, uncleanspirits who afflict mankind and oppose the church of the living God. It is primarily against them that the churchs warfare is directed.Thus, evil was born in the heavenlies. Now it is time to examine the entrance of evil into the experience of humanity.

4Rebellion in the Heavenlies and on Earth1717 17. Vine 2:213. See H. Buis, Hell, in ZPEB 3:114117.1818 18. Not every one would agree with this last statement. In fact, I am not sure myself that this is the correct interpretation of 2Peter 2:4 and Jude 6. See chapter 52 for my attempt to wrestle with these difficult passages.1919 19. This would be the premillenial eschatological view of these verses. For those holding other views of eschatology, there isstill the understanding of a future outpouring of evil supernaturalism before the second coming of Christ.

How was it possible for sin to arise in a kingdom of complete sinlessness, that is, the kingdom of God? How could sinless angels sin? The Scripturesnowhere attempt to explain how or why Satan and the angels were created with the capability for sin. Nor do they explain how or why human beingswere created with the same capability. These represent but two in a series of givens which are recorded in Scripture.By given I mean a fact or event which is recorded in the Bible without any explanation. The first and greatest given in all of Scripture is found inGenesis 1:1, In the beginning God. . . . No attempt is made to explain the existence of God. His existence is simply declared. The second greatestgiven is found in the same verse, God created the heavens and the earth (v. 1b). No explanation either of the time or the manner of the originalcreation is revealed. The third great given is found in the very next verse, The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of thedeep (v. 2a).In verse one the heavens and the earth are mentioned. Beginning with verse two the focus is exclusively upon the earth. No explanation about theearths state of formlessness, void, and darkness is revealed. The six days of creation (or recreation) which follow are, themselves, givens.1 The sameis true with the sin of both angels and men. They, also, are givens.The following explanation provides a partial answer. I share it in common with many biblical commentators.2 God is the only non-creature in theuniverse. As eternal God, He is without beginning and without end. He exists but He was not created. He is here, but He never began. He always was,is, and shall be. Thus He and He alone is absolutely perfect. He has perfect mind. He knows everything about everything. He has perfect emotions.What He feels is always what should be felt. He has perfect will. He always chooses what is right. Indeed, by very definition as perfect God, Hecannot choose evil. He cannot sin.All creatures are imperfect, however. By very definition God cannot create God. He can create only beings which are less than God, andtherefore, imperfect. The creation can never be equal to the Creator. By the very act of creating creatures in His own image and likeness, God iscreating creatures with mind, emotions, and a will similar to His own.3 By definition He cannot create creatures in His own image and likeness whichare not free to think, feel, and choose for themselves.Furthermore, creatures cannot be created in Gods image and likeness and, at the same time, be preprogrammed only to do Gods will. PaulSchilling in his excellent book, God and Human Anguish, says if this had occurredeven though all participants might think they were free, they would not actually be free, and though superficially happy, they would be unable to make their owndecisions or to grow in genuinely responsive relations to other persons. . . . They would lack all intrinsic value, since all would be robots unconsciously living outtheir predetermined destiny in one vast and tightly organized system. . . . This arrangement would conceive God as the Great Hypnotist, whose subjects wouldunknowingly and irresistibly carry out the commands given them during hypnosis . . . the notion of human beings [and angels] created so that they would alwayschoose the good is self contradictory. If they were really free, there could be no guarantee that they would always choose rightly, while if they were so constitutedas to exclude choices, they would not be free. (italics mine) 4

Furthermore, freedom of choice untested is only theory, not reality. Therefore, both angels and mankind had to face the choice between obedienceto God and disobedience.The American psychiatrist, Dr. Scott Peck, in his book People of the Lie, tells of his conversion to Christ. He too wrestles with the problem ofevil.511 1. Bernard Ramm wrestles with these days of creation in his superb book, The Christian View of Science and Scripture (GrandRapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1954), 173228. So does Gordon J. Wenham, Genesis 115, WBC (Waco, Texas: Word, 1987), 140.22 2. For an outline of other suggested partial answers, see Paul S. Schilling, God and Human Anguish (Nashville: Abingdon, 1977).33 3. For a discussion about angels created in Gods image, see C. Fred Dickason, Angels, Elect and Evil (Chicago: Moody, 1975),32.44 4. Schilling, 206, 209.55 5. M. Scott Peck, People of the Lie (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1983), 204.

To create us in His image, God gave us free will. To have done otherwise would have been to make us puppets or hollow mannequins. Yet to give us free will Godhad to forswear the use of force against us. We do not have free will when there is a gun at our back . . . In agony He must stand by and let us be. (italics mine)

Freedom of choice was given to Lucifer (if that was his name) and the angels, also. In the heavenly realm all of Gods angels were evidently putto the test of obedience. Although the story of that test is nowhere recorded, it is everywhere implied. Those who withstood the deception of thefallen angel, possibly Lucifer (Isa. 14:12),6 were confirmed in holiness. They are described as the holy angels (Mark 8:38) and the elect angels (1Tim. 5:21, KJV). Those who were deceived and followed the rebellious Lucifer are now, like their master, confirmed in their iniquity. According toScripture, no provision is made for their redemption.7Experience with demons confirms this fact. They hate God and will never repent or seek His forgiveness, even though they recognize withhorrible fear that they are doomed to the lake of fire. They are truly confirmed in evil.8 That the rebellion in heaven had its origin in the initialrebellion of one angelic being, Satan or the Devil, seems certain. All through Scripture He is revealed as the sole originator of evil and temptation(John 8:44; Luke 4:113). Furthermore, the Devil is always seen as the master over an angelic army of evil supernaturalism (Matt. 25:41; Rev. 12:317). It is his tail which swept away a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth (Rev. 12:4). (These stars probably represent angels.9)He is revealed to be in command of principalities, . . . powers, . . . the rulers of the darkness of this age, . . . spiritual hosts of wickedness in theheavenly places (Eph. 6:12).Two Kinds of Evil on EarthThis cosmic rebellion reached earth soon after mans creation. The evil it brought affected the universe on two levels: the natural and the moral.Edward J. Carnell defines natural evil as all of those frustrations of human values which are perpetrated, not by the free agency of man, but bythe natural elements in the universe, such as the fury of the hurricane and the devastation of the parasite.10Carnell next quotes the poet John Mills:11Killing, the most criminal act recognized by human laws, Nature does once to every being that lives; and in a large proportion of cases, after protracted torturessuch as only the greatest monsters whom we read of ever purposely inflicted on their living fellow-creatures. . . . Nature impales men, breaks them as if on thewheel, casts them to be devoured by wild beasts, burns them to death, crushes them with stones like the first Christian martyr, starves them with hunger, freezesthem with cold. . . . All this, Nature does with the most supercilious disregard both of mercy and of justice, emptying her shafts upon the best and noblestindifferently with the meanest and the worst.

Carnell follows with a word about one of the greatest of all evils, death. He speaks of the heartlessness of death which strikes down the good,along with the bad, in blind indiscrimination. He observes thatthe overt reason why natural evil is peculiarly a Christian problem is that Christianity teaches not only that all of nature was originally created by the Almighty andpronounced by Him to be good, but also that the present movement of all things is guided and guarded by the very watchful eye of Him who accomplishes allthings according to the counsel of his will (Eph. 1:11).66 6. I say possibly because there is no scriptural proof that Isaiah is referring to the fall of an angelic creature called Lucifer,i.e., Day Star (NEB says Star of Dawn) who later became Satan. See N. Green, Day Star, in ISBE, Geoffrey W. Bromiley, ed.,(Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1989) 1:879. The belief that this is a reference to the fall of the one who later became Satan orthe Devil is based on tradition, not on biblical exegesis.77 7. See Dickason, 3032, 3942; also Hebrews 2:918.88 8. Merrill F. Unger, Biblical Demonology (Chicago: Scripture Press, 1955), 6276.99 9. See Robert H. Mounce, The Book of Revelation, NICNT (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1977), 191193, for the view that thestars are angelic personages.1010 10. Edward J. Carnell, An Introduction to Christian Apologetics (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1948), 280.1111 11. Carnell, 280281.

Can the Christian walk through the crowded corridors of a childrens hospital or stumble through the rubble left by the devastating force of a hurricane, withoutfeeling the force of Jobs words? Surely I would speak to the Almighty, and I desire to reason with God (Job 13:3).12

The Bible is in no way silent about natural evil. Beginning with Genesis and moving through the entire biblical record ending in Revelation 22,natural evil has a place of prominence in Scripture second only to its more devastating twin, moral evil. However, Scripture does not attempt toexplain natural evil outside of the context of human moral evil. It says nothing about the existence of natural evil in the universe before the birth ofmoral evil in the experience of mankind.Carnell defines moral evil: [It] includes all of those frustrations of human values which are perpetrated not by the natural elements in theuniverse, but by the free agency of man. In his definitions of both natural and moral evil, Carnell limits his discussion exclusively to the relationshipof evil to humanity.13I differ from Carnell in that I see evil as originally pre-human, existing before the fall of man. Out of the context of pre-human, cosmic evil,human evil is introduced in Scripture. The anthrocentric focus of Scripture ignores direct references to the existence of natural evil in the heavens oron earth before the fall of man. Was there a pre-Adamic earthly moral creation which suffered a similar fall as that recorded in Genesis 3 withmankind? Is the gap theory, which affirms that a pre-Adamic fall occurred on earth between verses 1 and 2 of Genesis 1, accurate?14 Was therephysical death in the universe or on earth prior to mans fall? Did the present disorder within the order of the stellar heavens exist prior to manscreation and fall?About these and similar issues of natural evil the Scriptures are silent. Furthermore, we do not go to Gods Word for answers to some of thefundamental questions raised by the natural sciences other than the declaration of Scripture, In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth(Gen. 1:1). The Scriptures clearly indicate, however, that the Fall of humanity and the present groanings of nature are intimately related. In one ofthe greatest cosmological passages in Scripture Paul affirms thatthe creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondageof corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. Not onlythat, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body.(Rom. 8:2023)

With this in mind the apostle introduces his cosmological reasonings with the words, For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits forthe revealing of the sons of God (v. 19).Why? Because humanitys full redemption, which will occur only at the redemption of our bodies (v. 23), will transform the entire physicalcreation. At that point and only at that point will natural evil be annihilated forever.The apostle Peter declares that at some point, probably concurrent with or soon after the redemption of our bodies referred to by Paul, theheavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; . . . Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for newheavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells (2 Pet. 3:10,13).All of this is harmonious with John the Revelators words:Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city,New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. (Rev. 21:12)

The result will be the eternal and nearly total annihilation of natural and moral evil, from Gods creation and mankinds experience. I say nearlybecause the mysterious exception is called hell or the lake of fire.15 Whatever ones views of hell or the lake of fire may be, such a place does exist.1212 12.1313 13.1414 14.1515 15.

Jesus says hell was made for the devil and his angels (Matt. 25:41). He warns men that they too will go there if they continue living indisobedience to God (Matt. 5:2122,2730).16Paul describes that place of eternal evil as a place where men shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord andfrom the glory of His power (2 Thess. 1:9), a penalty reserved for all who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our LordJesus Christ (v. 8). John pictures hell as a lake of fire and brimstone into which the Devil and his servants will be thrown to be tormented day andnight forever and ever (Rev. 20:10). He further adds that Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone notfound written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire (vv. 1415).A horrid, vivid, terrifying picture of eternal evil, the lake of fire evidently parallels the new heavens and the new earth of eternal bliss, of eternalnon-evil. Mystery of mysteries!COSMIC REBELLION BECOMES EARTHLYWith the introduction of humanity into the conflict between the two kingdoms, the formerly exclusive cosmic rebellion now becomes a cosmicearthly rebellion.The historical-pictorial account is given in Genesis 3:124.17 The historicity of the Fall is confirmed in Scriptures such as 2 Corinthians 11:3 andRevelation 12:79. The historic fact of the Fall is also used by Paul in Romans 5 and 1 Corinthians 15 in connection with the historic, redemptiveaction of Jesus as the last Adam and the second man. I call Genesis 3 a pictorial account because of the vivid symbolism used to describe thehistorical events. The main truths of the story are just as real and historic if one admits to symbolism as they are if one follows a strict literalism. 18Three Lessons From Genesis 3I consider Genesis 3 to be the most important passage on spiritual warfare in the entire Old Testament. We will deal with it in detail later. Three ofthe many lessons to be learned from this story contribute to the discussion at this point.1. Humanity was led into rebellion against the rule of God by an already existing evil, supernatural being. In the symbolism of the story, that evilsupernatural being is revealed as a serpent, an animal, part of Gods good creation.19 Whether or not the physical animal we know today as the serpentis the creature revealed here is entirely beside the point. The main point of the story is that mankind was deceived into an act of disobedience to Godby an already existing wise, but evil, being.He reveals his evil wisdom by disguising himself so that the woman is unaware of his evil. She believes she is in conversation with a familiarcreature, part of Gods good creation. Then he leads Eve into a discussion about God and the limitations He has placed on her and Adam in theGarden. Until now she has only seen the positive side of her Edenic state. Satan awakens within her mind the realization of the negative side, whatshe and Adam cannot do in the garden. The deception was directed against her mind which, by definition, also includes her emotions and will.2. He outwits the sinless but inexperienced woman. Carefully he chooses his words to cause her to think his thoughts after him. This subtle transitionconfuses her mind and distorts her view of reality. She fails to reject the lies now being planted within her mind. She accepts the lies and half-truthsshe is hearing as the real truth.3. Being a former sinless creature himself, the serpent (Satan) is aware when her thinking has become distorted. He knows when she is ready toreceive in her mind a direct denial of Gods Word and a total misrepresentation of Gods purposes: You will not surely die. For God knows that in1616 16. For a popular examination of hell see The Rekindling of Hell, U.S. News and World Report (March 28, 1991), 56f.1717 17. Besides the study of Genesis 3 done here, chaps. 6, 7, 2729 are important too. The entire biblical revelation concerningthe activity of evil supernaturalism in the believers sin war rests upon the truths taught in Genesis 3.1818 18. While not accepting all his conclusions, I believe Gordon J. Wenhams study entitled Genesis 115 is outstanding in itsreverent, yet scholarly review of the divergent views of Genesis in general and Genesis 3 in particular (WBC (Waco, Texas: Word,1987)).1919 19. Wenham, 7281.

the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil (vv. 45). That was all that was needed. Thedeception is complete. Eves mind embraces Satans thoughts. She now sees the forbidden tree from an entirely new and wrong perspective. Satan hasawakened within her emotions she had never known before. She sees, she delights, she desires, and she takes the fruit of her deception.Sin is born. As is sins nature, it never remains by itself. It always seeks company. Eve immediately shares her new-found pleasures with herhusband, Adam. Evidently there is not as yet any visible, negative evidence of sins consequences in her appearance. Adam exercises his free will andeats the forbidden fruit, disobeying the Word of God. The goal of Satans deception is now realized. The head over Gods new creation falls.Consequences of the First Earthly DeceptionOne major consequence is the defilement of all of Gods new creation. Satans delight is at its zenith. He has not only deceived Gods angeliccreation, but he has also succeeded in defiling Gods earthly creation.Second, the cosmic rebellion has now become a cosmic-earthly rebellion. Mankind has joined the fallen angels in rejecting the revealed will ofGod. History, both cosmic and earthly, will never be the same.Third, humanity not only participates in the conflict between the two kingdoms but also becomes the central person around whom the conflictrevolves. Thus humanity both by nature and by choice belong to Satans kingdom (Luke 4:56; John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11; Acts 26:18; Eph. 2:13;Col. 1:13). God, however, out of sovereign love, mercy, compassion, and grace (Eph. 2:49; cf. 1:1314), has acted to provide full redemption for allhumanity (John 3:16; 2 Cor. 5:1821; 1 John 2:12).Gods enemy, having deceived the human race into following his deception into independence from the will of God, now becomes mans mortalenemy. Through his demonic hosts he resists Gods program of redemption for humanity. Satan does not want people to hear or obey the gospel ofGods love. He does all within his evil power to resist the spread of the gospel to the nations (Matt. 13:19,2530; Acts 5, 8, 13, 19; 2 Cor. 4:34;11:34,1315; 1 Thess. 2:18; 3:5; Rev. 23; 12:1713:7).The battle centers on humanity. Satan deceived and enslaved the whole race; God potentially has redeemed it (2 Cor. 5:1819; 1 John 2:12). Allthat is lacking is peoples response to Gods redeeming love. To stop them from responding is Satans goal, which he seeks to accomplish throughcontinued deception.In this context of sin and deception the gospel is preached. The Spirit of God convicts people of sin, righteousness, and judgment (John 16:18).The enemy fights back to hold them in continual bondage (Matt. 13:19; 2 Cor. 4:34). Thus, again, in this sense humanity not only participates in theconflict between the two kingdoms, but it is the central being around which the conflict revolves. Building on humanitys sinful flesh energized bythis evil world, Satan assaults the human mind with continual lies. People, thus being deceived, in turn become deceivers (2 Tim. 3:13). They spreadSatans lies on a worldwide scale as they unwittingly assume the nature of their deadly enemy.

5The Source of All RebellionWhen Liars Tell the TruthAlthough all demons, like their master, Satan, are liars, they can be forced to tell the truth. First, they never lie to Jesus. Second, they can be madeto confess to their deception by Satan and subsequent rebellion against God, as the following incident illustrates.1With the permission of the demonized victim, I was using a deliverance as a teaching session for some sincere, but somewhat incredulousobservers. A few days earlier my wife Loretta, my younger daughter Barbara, and I, with a few prayer helpers, had begun the deliverance process. Weknew that there were yet more demons to be expelled from the victims life.11 1. Dialogue from my tape recording of session.

I purposely entered into a controlled dialogue with one of the demons beyond what is normal and usually appropriate. I allowed the demons touse the victims vocal cords and speak out loud.2 I was dealing with a demon called Fear.3How long have you been around? I asked Fear.For ages, it replied.You rebelled against God, didnt you? I prodded.Yes.Why did you do that?We were fooled.Who were you fooled by, Satan?Yes.Yet you say you love him.We must.He is the Prince of Darkness. Do you know where he is going?We were betrayed.Then you betray him. Would you like to betray him?No.In the only story in the Acts of a one-on-one demonic encounter and deliverance story which records demonic speech, the demons declare thetruth. These men are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation, they exclaim (Acts 16:17).Evidently, demons are often compelled to tell the truth in the presence of greater spiritual authority (Luke 10:1719; Eph. 2:6; 3:10). They willoften voluntarily proclaim the truth about God, the Lord Jesus Christ, and the defeat of Satan their master by the Lord Jesus Christ. They will alsoconfess their own defeat and our authority over them during the fear and pain they experience during deliverance sessions. In spite of their defiantand arrogant bluffing, demons go through progressive torment during prayerfully and carefully planned deliverance sessions.With increasing experience in challenging and evicting evil spirits through the authority in Jesus name, the believer learns to detect when theunclean spirits are lying, when they are fearfully confessing the truth, and how to compel them to speak the truth. I do not usually enter into involveddialogue with demons during deliverance ministry. If I am led by the Holy Spirit to seek information from a demon, it is only for a specific purposeand under certain conditions. Also, as the Lords servant, I am always in charge. The demons are never allowed to take over the proceedings.22 2. Again I must state that I do not usually allow dialogue with demons using the vocal cords of their victims. The exactprocedure depends on each deliverance case, of course. Usually demons can be dealt with by allowing them to speak only to themind of their victim. At times, however, there may be value in allowing the vocal approach as I did in this case.33 3. Not all fear is demonic; usually it is not. Demons do, however, seem to specialize in causing specific problems in the lives oftheir victims. This is biblical. First Samuel 16:14f describes a demon of terror. If allowed to speak he might call himself Terror. In18:10 and 19:9, Saul is again demonized. These demons might call themselves Madness, Insanity, Rage, Anger, Murder, Kill, etc.In 1 Kings 22:22 we have a lying spirit. He might call himself Deception, Liar, or Spirit of Deception or Spirit of Lying. In Mark9:25 Jesus addresses the demon as a deaf and dumb spirit. He could have called himself Deaf-Mute. In Matthew 12:27 a rulingdemon was called Beelzebul, Master of the Dwelling, or Beelzebub, Master of Spirits (see D. E. Aune, Beelzebul in ISBE (GrandRapids, Mich., Eerdmans, 1989) 1:447448). Demons are called unclean spirits in the New Testament. Some may have calledthemselves Unclean or Uncleanness. These are only suggestions based on experience with demons. Church history also supportsthese views.

The purpose of deliverance is always to help free the victim from demonization and lead him into a life of obedience to God. The conditions,however, will vary depending upon the circumstances. Sometimes time is a crucial factor. The demons must be expelled from the victims life in ashort period of time. I will set up post-deliverance counseling sessions with the counselee, which will often involve further deliverance.At times I am compelled to force the demons to reveal the places (Eph. 4:27) they are holding in the victims life to expel them more easily.This is not always necessary, for if effective pre-deliverance counseling is followed, the victims themselves will usually reveal that information.Sometimes, however, those places may be hidden deep within the victims damaged personality. The demons know the places and can be made toreveal them. This process often takes time; deliverance counseling is not a ministry for impatient or preoccupied people.In some serious cases of demonization involving extreme child abuse and often Ritual Sexual Abuse (RSA), personality splitting or dissociationmay occur. Amnesia is almost always involved. Demons may attach themselves to the alter personalities also (see chapter 59). This type ofdeliverance and healing is in a class by itself. The rules are now in the process of being formulated, because this is new territory in both counselingand deliverance ministries. Most major books on deliverance procedures totally or almost totally ignore such Multiple Personality Disorders (MPD).*The normal procedures suggested often do not work well with this type of personality bruising.Again, we do not build our theology on the fearful cries of demons. Yet when faced with the presence of the reigning Lord in the person of Hisservants, they will confirm the biblical account concerning their relationship to Satan, their deception, their fall, and all other dimensions of biblicaltruth. They are forced to tell the truth.The Origin of Evil in SatanWe still face a difficult question, however. While the fallen angels and humanity were deceived by Lucifer (we will use this name for Satan beforehis fall, but it is not certain that this was his name), who deceived Lucifer? We have just removed the troublesome question of theodicy one stepbackwards, to the birth of evil within Lucifer himself. The biblical answer is clear, even though how it could occur is nowhere explained. Satan is thefather of lies because he is himself a liar, Jesus affirms. He lied both to the angels and to humanity because he was already a liar. Furthermore, Jesusdeclares that He was a murderer from the beginning (John 8:44; cf. 1 John 3:8.) What does this mean?According to Leon Morris, the term rendered beginning can also denote origin in the sense of basic cause . . . first cause.4 Applying this truthto John 8:44 gives us important insight. Jesus is affirming that murder has its origin in Satan. He is its first cause. Jesus next connects that origin withSatans nature as a liar and the father of lies. Morris connects this murder with the human race. It was through Satan that Adam became mortal(Rom. 5:12; cf. Wisdom 2:24). Satan thus became the murderer of the whole human race. . . . a man killer. 5We can take this truth one step farther back to the true origin of murder through lying. It occurred not on earth, but in the angelic realm probablybefore the creation of humanity. Remember the demon Fear and its mournful lament, We were fooled (by Satan). We were betrayed! Thus murderthrough lying had its origin in the Devil. Jesus is saying that Satan originated murder and deception. He evidently did so when he deceived a host ofGods angels into rebellion against God, thus bringing about their death; that is, their eternal separation from God.The Remaining MysteryAs to how Satan himself was transformed from a good creature into the liar who then became the murderer of some of the angels and the entirehuman race, the Bible is totally silent. Where the Bible is obviously and consistently silent about such matters we do well also to remain silent.

** I use alter personality and Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD) through most of this book because these are the words usedmost frequently by counselors, both Christian and secular, to refer to extreme personality dissociation. For my preferred termssee chapter 59, note 1.44 4. Leon Morris, The Gospel According to John, NICNT (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1977), 73.55 5. Morris, 463464.

Our earlier discussion of the price that God had to pay to create creatures with true freedom of choice throws some light on the question of howLucifer could become the Devil, liar and murderer. Yet we are ultimately left with a mystery which our mortal minds cannot fully fathom. In matterslike this I continually refer to verses in Scripture like these:The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of thislaw. (Deut. 29:29)Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is high, I cannot attain it. (Ps. 139:6)Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out! For who has knownthe mind of the LORD? Or who has become His counselor? Or who has first given to Him And it shall be repaid to him? For of Him and through Him and to Himare all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen. (Rom. 11:3336)

We have seen again and again that the lie that penetrated the innocent, free minds of Adam and Eve and which led to their murder (John 8:44; 1John 3:8) originated outside themselves. They possessed no inner inclination toward evil, no independence from God. They did not live in theworld, that is, human society organized toward life independent of the will of God. Their society was the Garden of God. Yet they sinned.So we see that sin and rebellion against the lordship of God are not normal to the human race as God created us. The normal human life wasmeant to be one of total obedience to God and unbroken, peaceful, indescribable fellowship both with God and our fellow man. In their innocence,both in their intimate relationship with God and in their naked relationship with each other, Adam and Eve felt no shame (Gen. 2:25; cf. 3:711). AllGod made was good. They lived in the warm, pure light of primeval goodness and innocence.Sin and rebellion against God, resulting in both natural and moral evil, are thus an abnormality which has now become normal for humanity.Edith Schaeffer comments on this transition.6Adam and Eve had experienced the transition from living in a perfect world to living in a spoiled world. Adam and Eve had known what it was to be normalhuman beings living in the normal world but they were the only ones who were to compare by personal experience what normal and abnormal were like.Their choice to act upon the lie of Satan, as if it were truth, brought about the result that God had predicted. The world became abnormal. We have lived inanddo live inan abnormal world. Things have been spoiled, vandalized by Satan, by a whole period of cause-and-effect history.

A detailed study of Genesis 3 will serve us well. Satans tactics and his strategy have not changed since the Garden of Eden. Becoming aware ofwhat he did to our first parents and how he did it will serve to forewarn and arm us for the spiritual battle we all face here and now.

6Cosmic-Earthly Warfare BeginsGenesis 3The major focus on spiritual warfare as experienced by humanity begins with Genesis 3. I will make no attempt to deal in any depth with the criticalissues often raised about this story. As mentioned previously, Genesis 3 is both an historical and a pictorial account of the fall of humanity. It actuallyhappened the way it is recorded. There really was an historical Adam and Eve. Not only were they the first human beings created in the image ofGod, but they stand as the representatives of the entire human race. Their transgression, particularly that of Adam as the head of the human race, isseen in Scripture as the fall of the human race (Rom. 5; 1 Cor. 15).1

Mysteries in the Genesis 3 account have disturbed the minds of biblical scholars, both Jewish and Christian, for centuries.2 The prince of Biblecommentators, John Calvin, writes that the story raises many and arduous questions.3Moses, the writer of Genesis,4 begins his account with another given, the talking, seducing serpent:Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, Has God indeed said, You shall not eatof every tree of the garden? (Gen. 3:1)

Three Views of Genesis 3

There seem to be only three major ways of viewing the serpents role in the temptation story. First is to see it literally. The serpent spoke to Eveand, indirectly, to Adam through Eve bringing about humanitys fall. Second is to view it allegorically. Webster defines allegory as the expressionby means of symbolic fictional figures and actions of truths or generalizations about human conduct or experience. For those who hold to a highview of Scripture, as I do, we can pass over most of Websters first definition of allegory when it comes to Genesis 3. His second definition fits thecase better, however. The story is historical, but is described through symbolic representation.5The third manner of viewing the story is both literal and symbolic. I lean towards this historical-pictorial (symbolic) view of Genesis 3. Theevents involving Adam and Eve actually happened the way Moses records them. He does, however, use symbolism to tell his story. If strict literalismis correct, or if the allegorical view is best, or if we have here literalism mixed with symbolic representation, the story is still the same. R. PayneSmith notes thatThe leading point of the narrative is that the temptation came upon man from without, and through the woman. Such questions, therefore, as whether it was a realserpent or Satan under a serpent-like form, whether it spake with a real voice, and whether the narrative describes a literal occurrence or is allegorical, are betterleft unanswered.God has given us the account of mans temptation and fall, and the entry of sin into the world, in this actual form; and the more reverent course is to draw from thenarrative the lessons it was evidently intended to teach us, and not enter upon too curious speculations. 6

The historical account of the Fall is obviously given in story form and with vivid imagery and symbolism. In this manner the truth the story wasmeant to convey could best be communicated to the common people of that day.7 One thing is absolutely certain in light of the testimony of the restof Scripture, however. Satan was the source of the voice that spoke to Eves mind through the serpent.Calvin raises the possibility that the ability of the serpent to talk on this occasion could be considered as the first direct intervention by God intothe normal course of His creation, the first miracle.8The serpent was not eloquent by nature, but when Satan, by divine permission, procured it as a fit instrument for his use, he uttered words also by its tongue, whichGod Himself permitted. Nor do I doubt that Eve perceived it to be extraordinary and on that account received with the greater aridity what she admired . . . if itseems incredible that beasts should speak at the command of God, how has man the power of speech, but because God has formed his tongue.

There is certainly biblical support for some aspects of Calvins position. What about Balaams donkey? The biblical record states, Then theLORD opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times? (Num.22:28). It is interesting to note that Balaam conversed with the donkey and was apparently neither surprised nor fearful, and the same appears to havebeen true for Eve.9Did not Jesus himself affirm that God will make stones to speak His glory if people refuse to do so? His exact words were, I tell you that if theseshould keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out (Luke 19:40). Cannot the God who can make stones and donkeys to speak also allow aserpent to provide the channel of communication for Satan when such fits His sovereign plan? Indeed He can, and did. Whether it was audible, verbalcommunication or the implanting of thoughts into Eves mind is also a question for which there is no easy answer. Either way, the story remainsexactly the same.Finally, there is the question as to why Moses does not mention the presence of Satan in the account of the Fall. My first answer is the obviousone: No one really can be certain since the answer is not given. Again, I appeal to Deuteronomy 29:29.Lessons on Spiritual Warfare From Genesis 377 7. For an in-depth discussion of Moses teaching style adopted in the early chapters of Genesis and especially Genesis 3, seeCalvin 1:139142.Probably the average citizen at that time, if he could read at all, was not a skilled reader. Even if he could read, written recordswere not readily available to the masses. The main channels of education were oral tradition and the practice of scribes andteachers who read aloud from the written texts to their students or to the masses.Illiterates, semi-literates or literates who lack their own written records tend to develop amazing capacities for memorization,however. Thus to help them in their memorization of large amounts of information in biblical times, vivid symbolism was usedcommonly in both historical accounts and teaching materials. In Genesis 3 Moses adopted a teaching style suitable to people whothink in word pictures and through symbols.Our Lords use of parables and symbolism to teach the masses the profoundest truths is a case in point. In His itinerantteaching He could not carry his Bible with Him. Nor could His listeners follow His teaching with their Bibles! All had to becommunicated verbally. To enhance the learning process, Jesus did what Moses did in Genesis 3. He resorted to symbolism andillustrations from the everyday life of His audience to teach the mysteries of God.88 8. Calvin 1:145.99 9. This is probably because the point of the narrative has nothing to do with Balaams surprise or lack of surprise when hisdonkey spoke to him. God usually goes right to the point of His stories, paying no attention to such peripheral issues which causemore critical modern readers almost panic. Woe unto us! We are great at asking peripheral questions, poor at asking the keyquestions.

Now the main teachings of the story about warfare with evil supernaturalism begin to unfold. We start with the danger of a two-way conversation,either verbally or within the mind, with the Devil on his terms. Satan began with the question, Has God indeed said . . . ? Instead of silencing him,Eve answered his question. He then subtly responded to her answer and the trap was set (Gen. 3:16).It is always dangerous to engage in a two-way dialogue with the Devil on his terms. To all of his doubts, lies, and boasts our response must bethat of Jesus, Away with you, Satan! For it is written (Matt. 4:10). It is written is equivalent to the sword of the Spirit, which is the word(rhema) of God of Ephesians 6:17. That is exactly how I handle demons in deliverance ministries. Often, once they have been exposed, demonstend to switch from total silence to rambling verbosity. They must be shut down by a word of command in Jesus name:You are not allowed to speak unless you are asked to speak. You will answer what youre asked and no more. Then I will determine if you speak out loud or onlyin the mind of __________ (the victim). I will decide that, not you. This is a one-way conversation and I am in charge, not you. Be silent until I give youpermission to speak.

To those who feel that we should not use the personal pronoun I but instead ask the Lord to silence evil spirits, my answer is simple andbiblical: Nowhere in Scripture is that procedure taught nor practiced. It sounds very pious but it is erroneous.Jesus gives us authority over the demonic realm. We do not need to ask for what is already given. That such authority is given to all Godsservants is clear in that it was not only given to the twelve apostles (Luke 9:4) but also to the seventy other disciples (Luke 10:1f). Since they weredisciples of Jesus but not part of the apostolic band, they can be seen as representatives of Christians in general.10When the seventy returned from their witnessing ministry, they were not bashful in referring to their authority over demons as it was evidenced intheir ministry. They exclaimed, Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name (Luke 10:17).Jesus, far from rebuking them for arrogance, affirmed their words. After declaring the fall of Satan that He beheld in the spirit realm, which wasevidently directly connected to their ministry (v. 18), He joyfully declared, Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents [interesting inlight of Genesis 3!] and scorpions [Rev. 9:111], and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you (v. 19). Theirauthority, exousia, delegated to them by Jesus Himself, was greater than the power, dunamis, of the enemy. They had nothing to fear (v. 19).The only caution Jesus laid upon them was to maintain balance in their life, ministry, and priorities. While it was a cause of rejoicing to know thatthe enemy was subject to them (vv. 1718), it was more important to rejoice in their relationship to God and His kingdom (v. 20).In the only case outside of the Gospels where the Scriptures describe a one-on-one deliverance session from demonization (Acts 16), theapostle Paul followed the exact pattern of deliverance ministry practiced by the seventy. To the demons afflicting the slave girl of Philippi hedeclared, I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. Luke writes, And he came out that very hour.Doubting Gods GoodnessReturning to Genesis 3, we note that once Satan deceived Eve into conversing with him on his terms, he subtly attacked Gods goodness: HasGod indeed said? Lange comments:11The deluding ambiguity of his utterance is admirably expressed by the particles. . . . The word in question denotes a questioning surprise, which may have in viewnow a yes, and now a no, according to the connection. This is the first striking feature in the beginning of the temptation. In the most cautious manner there isshown the tendency to excite doubt. Then the expression aims, at the same time, to awaken mistrust, and to weaken the force of the prohibition.

What is Satan saying to Eve? God is not really good to you since He is denying you all the delicacies of the garden, is He? How can He be agood God and treat you this way?

1010 10. See my study on Luke 10:1719 in chapter 40.

We have all heard that voice in our minds! How can God be good and allow you to suffer as you do? How can He be good and deny you whatyou really want, deep within you? How can God be good and allow your child, wife, husband, loved one to die of cancer? How can God be goodand . . . ? The reader can add his own often-heard words of doubt about Gods goodness.Eve made a serious error in allowing that line of thinking to continue. She could not stop it from beginning, but she could and should havestopped it from progressing. It is the same error we often make under similar demonic attacks.Satan, through his demons, assaults our minds with doubts. He attacks our faith. He undermines our confidence in Gods goodness by pointingout perceived inconsistencies in Gods treatment of us and others. We must learn to shut him down by rejecting his accusations against God withinour minds. This is where we use the sword of the Spirit, the Word (rhema, a particular verse or truth of Scripture, not the entire Bible) of God.Next Eve tries to defend God. I paraphrase her words, No, you have it all wrong, she replies. We can eat of the trees of the garden, from all ofthem except the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden. In her reply to Satan it is possible the thought has begun to cross her mind, Why didGod put that forbidden tree there, anyway? Why did he have to plant it right in the middle of the garden where we have to see it every day? Thatdoesnt seem fair.Eve walked right into Satans trap. While she did not know it was Satan with whom she was conversing, her actions were still inexcusable. Sheknew God personally. Also she knew what God expected of her: obedience. She should have exclaimed, I dont know who you are or what you havein mind, but I will not listen to your doubts. Be silent! How dare you affront the goodness of my God! He is God! He is Lord! He is sovereign! He isthe maker and owner of all! He is good to us! Look at all He has done for us! Look at the hundreds of trees from which we can eat. Why do yousingle out the one from which we are commanded not to eat?I love God and I choose to obey Him even in the areas where I do not understand. Whatever His purposes may be for denying us the fruit of thatone tree, I will believe! I will obey! I reject all doubts about His goodness!Denying Gods WordUnfortunately Eve followed the wrong course of thinking. When the Evil One saw that her confidence in Gods goodness had been weakened, hetook the next step. He overtly denied Gods Word: You will not surely die! (v. 4). Calvin comments thatSatan now springs more boldly forward; and because he sees a breach open before him, he breaks through in a direct assault, for he is never wont to engage inopen war until we voluntarily expose ourselves to him, naked and unarmed. . . .He now, therefore, . . . openly accuses God of falsehood, for he asserts that the word by which death was pronounced is false and delusive. Fatal temptation! When,while God is threatening us with death, we not only securely sleep, but hold God himself in derision! 12

The same occurs in our Christian life. Once we have been deceived by the Evil One into doubting Gods goodness, we will automatically begin todoubt His Word. The latter naturally follows the former.I was counseling a young woman who, among other things, was plagued by an extremely poor self-image. Her mind was continually bombardedwith doubts about God. She wanted to love Him but found, at the same time, she emotionally almost hated Him.Why did God make me so ugly? she asked. (She was a reasonably attractive blue-eyed blonde.) Why does God make my life so difficult? IfHe is really my loving Father, why does He not treat me with the gentle love, compassion, and kindness of a good father? Why does He allow me tobe so unhappy?I once had the assurance of my salvation. Now I am not so sure. I know the Bible promises assurance of salvation to all who repent and believe,but because I have lost my confidence in His goodness how can I trust His Word?I want to love God, but secretly I almost hate Him. Im angry at Him. Hes unfair and unkind. He doesnt hear me when I pray. So how can Itrust anything He tells me in His Word?1212 12. Calvin, 149150.

This is spiritual warfare. The young lady was a committed Christian. She was also an honest one. She only spoke openly what many believersfeel secretly when their world begins to crumble around them, when their minds are under severe demonic assault.Winning the Battle in Our MindsHow do we resist these attacks against our mind? The apostle Paul gives us the sure answer in 2 Corinthians 10:35:For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling downstrongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience ofChrist.

Though we walk in the flesh (here flesh probably refers to our humanity), we are at war, Paul is affirming (v. 3). In every war weapons mustbe used. Spiritual warfare is no different. God has given us weapons with which we engage in effective battle.Our weapons do not arise out of our humanity, Paul is declaring. Even the most brilliant, resourceful, and strongest among us cannotovercome the enemy with whom we war. But our weapons are divine. Since they come from God, they are more powerful than anything the enemybrings against us. They are sufficient to destroy every fortress of evil we encounter, Paul promises (v. 4).What is our responsibility in this matter? Paul tells us in verse 5. In one word, we are, by Gods power, to take control of our minds, our thoughtlife. As was true of Eve in Genesis 3 so it is true of us. Our mind, which includes our heart, emotions, and will, represents the real battlegroundbetween the two kingdoms within our lives as believers. That is the testimony of the entire New Testament confirmed by daily experience. If we winthe battle in our minds, we have won the war.That is the battle that Eve, and later Adam, lost. We all suffer the consequences of that defeat to this day, but the battle is reenacted almost daily inthe mind and heart of every child of God. Thus the importance given in Scripture to the mind and to its almost equivalent term, the heart.What does the Bible mean by the mind of man? What does it mean when it refers to a mans heart? These questions carry us into the nextchapter, the area of biblical psychology.

7Warfare in the GardenBiblical psychology makes no attempt at precise definitions and distinctions about human nature as does modern psychology. The Bible is not atextbook on psychology just as it is not a textbook on geology, astronomy, or any of the sciences. Where it touches on any of the areas covered bythese disciplines, however, the Bible is without error.1 But since its purposes lie in another direction, the Scriptures should not be used to attempt tocreate a full-orbed science. In the words of D. M. Lake,2Biblical concepts of psychology lack analytical and technical precision. Both the Old Testament and the New Testament focus attention on mans concrete and totalrelationship to God and where psychological terms do appear their intention seems to be emphasis rather than a concern to divide or compartmentalize mansactivity. For this reason, no consistent pattern or terminology can be determined in either Testament.

Meanings of HeartAlso for this reason it is difficult to come up with precise definitions of words like heart, mind, and similar words used in the Scriptures to refer tomans immaterial nature. J. M. Lower notes that heart [refers] to the inner man; the function of mind; where man remembers, thinks; the heart, theseat and center of all physical and spiritual life; the soul or mind as the fountain and seat of thoughts, passions, desires, affections, appetites,11 1. Not all believers will agree with this statement. We should not let our differences about how God inspired the biblical writersnor the extent of that inspiration to keep us apart as believers. Someday we will fully understand this and similar controversialquestions.22 2. D. M. Lake, Mind, in ZPEB, Merrill C. Tenney, ed., (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 1977) 4:228.

purposes, endeavors.3 Thus the heart refers to the inner man, the hidden person of the heart. It can also denote that central agency and facilitywithin man whereby he images, intends, purposes, thinks, and understands. The heart is also that center, essence, and inner substance of man whichneeds to be reconciled to God, redeemed, that being righted with God may be reconciled to others. Finally, the heart is the core and seat ofemotions; the center of emotional reaction, feeling, and sensitivity.Meanings of MindWhen one considers the wide variety of Hebrew and Greek words translated mind in the English Bible, one encounters confusion andoverlapping, with the biblical use of heart and similar words. After surveying this variety, Lake concludes:4. . . no one term occupies an exclusive meaning, nor is one term alone used to indicate the faculty of reflection or cognition. It is equally clear because of thisconstellation of terms that mans being defies precise definition. All these terms call attention to mans inner being . . . that controls the self.

According to Lake, the Hebrew mentality was strikingly different from the Greek. Although the Bible regards man as a thinking being, he ispresented as a united whole whose reflexive or cognitive faculties are an indivisible element of his total being.There are two Greek words used primarily by the apostle Paul for mind. The first word is nous. William Vine says nous, or mind, Generallyspeaking, [refers to] the seat of reflective consciousness, comprising the faculties of perception and understanding and those of feeling, judging anddetermining.5 The second word is noema. Vine says it means thought, design, [and] is rendered minds in 2 Corinthians 3:14; 4:4; 11:3;Philippians 4:7.Nous, translated mind, is found all through the New Testament. Luke puts the word in the mouth of Jesus in Luke 24:45: And He opened theirunderstanding (nous) that they might comprehend the Scriptures.Paul uses nous to write of the reprobate mind, a mind controlled by sin and under the judgment of God (Rom. 1:2832, Eph. 4:17; Col. 2:18; 1

Tim. 6:5; 2 Tim. 3:8; Titus 1:15). He uses nous to stress the renewed mind in Romans 12:2 and to refer to the believer as possessing the mind of

Christ in 1 Corinthians 2:16. He uses the plural of nous to speak of the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and

minds through Christ Jesus in Philippians 4:7. Nous thus becomes primarily a Pauline word, even as warfare within the human mind of bothbelievers and unbelievers is primarily a Pauline emphasis.Noema also is a Pauline word. It is used exclusively by the apostle in the New Testament. In 2 Corinthians 3:14 Paul speaks of men whose mindswere blinded. In 2 Corinthians 4:4 he declares that Satan is the primary source of the spiritual blindness of the unbelieving mind: whose minds[noemata] the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, shouldshine on them.The apostle next turns his attention to believers. Referring to Eves deception by the serpent, he declares, But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpentdeceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds [noemata] may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ (2 Cor. 11:3).Mind and Motive

33 3. J. M. Lower, Heart, in ZPEB 3:5860.

With this we return to Genesis 3 and Satans attacks against the mind of Eve. With the door into Eves mind now opened wide to his lies, theenemy next assaults Gods motives. In doing so he actually is assaulting Gods character: For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes willbe opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil (v. 5).What is the serpent insinuating?There is more to life than what you are presently enjoying, the Tempter whispers. God is keeping a wonderful realm of reality and experiencefrom you. Ill tell you how to have it. You dont have to deny your relationship with God. You only need to listen to me. Ill help you really enjoy lifeto its fullness.Adam and Eve, deceived by this lie, have led the parade of humanity along this same course of deception. From materialism on one hand tomodern Gnosticism (hidden esoteric wisdom) on the other, Satans lies have detoured men from a life of simple obedience to God.For those who seek pleasure, Satan offers the delights of forbidden fruit from all kinds of trees: illicit sex, material possessions, mind-moodaltering drugs, unrestrained fun. Live it up. Enjoy yourself. You only live once so get all the gusto out of life that you can. Through the media of theworld, Satan appeals to the hidden evil of the flesh.Contemporary Religious DeceitFor those who will not accept the simplicity that is in Christ (2 Cor. 11:3) as the way to spiritual fullness, the liar offers other sources ofspirituality. This is what I mean by a modern Gnosticism that suggests that there are other gospels, other Christs, other holy spirits, other hiddenspiritual mysteries to understand and experience (2 Cor. 11:4; cf. Matt. 24:2328; Gal. 1:69).You dont have to deny Christ the seducer whispers to doubting, troubled minds. I offer you the true Spirit of Christ, a Christ not bound bytraditional Christian bigotry. He is the cosmic, everywhere present Christ who has returned with great liberating truth. You can discover truth hiddenfrom the closed minds of fundamentalists, bigots, and church leaders. Listen to his word revealed to you in this new age through . . .This deception unifies the syncretistic theology of the New Age movement. This is the message of spirit channeling, a branch of that movement. 6One of the main teachings of the New Age movement is You are God. What did the serpent promise Eve? You will be (like) God . . . The NewAge movement is not so new after all.Unfortunately, some teachings of New Age theology have been embraced by the Christian gurus who often appear on television, radio, and inthe printed page with words of knowledge or prophecy which subtly dilute or contradict the message of the written Word of God, just as the serpentdid in our story.I am not speaking to the question concerning whether the gifts of prophecy and words of knowledge are in manifestation in the church today.Different points of view are held among Christians, all of whom have a high view of Scripture. Believers have the right to differ at this point.Deception Through Signs and WondersI will take a stand, however, on the abuse of these gifts within Christendom. Deceiving, persuasive Christian leaders are leading sincerebelievers worldwide into doctrinal, spiritual, and even moral error. Their message subtly undermines the Old and New Testament Scriptures as thesole authority for eternal truth. They speak messages in tongues and write words of prophecy, knowledge, and revelation which are supposed to befollowed as equal to the Word of God.7 While in principle some may deny this, in practice they do it. God has spoken . . . is their trademark whenGod has not spoken. He never contradicts His written Word.66 6. See chapter 62 in this book for my overview of the movement.77 7. I once was stopped right in the middle of a conference for Christian leaders while teaching on the gift of prophecy in todayschurch. The individual said, Our prophecies are just as valid and infallible as biblical prophecy. After a series of serious problemsarising out of this erroneous view, the leaders of the movement had to reassess their views of prophecy. To their credit theyrejected the notion that modern prophecy is as binding upon believers as are the prophetic Scriptures.

Believers sometime assume that the release of spiritual power through the lives of some of these dynamic leaders is proof that they are Godsprophets. Signs, wonders, miracles, casting out demonsall performed in the name of Jesusare taken as the absolute guarantee that their words aretrue. Such believers refer to Jesus words:Do not forbid him, for no one who works a miracle in My name can soon afterward speak evil of Me. . . . And these signs will follow those who believe: In Myname they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them;they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover. (Mark 9:39; 16:1718)

They argue, Does not Mark conclude his gospel saying, And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them andconfirming the word through the accompanying signs (Mark 16:20; cf. Heb. 2:4)? Jesus did utter these words. Mark and the other New Testamentwriters do refer to visible releases of Gods power as signs and confirmations of the truth declared along with the lifestyle modeled by the Lordsbond servants (Heb. 2:4). This is still true.However, that is only one side of the coin. The other side is that of demonic counterfeit and Satanic deception. The world of evil supernaturalismis both allowed by God and able to counterfeit, even in the name of Jesus, the works of power performed by Gods true messengers. Did not Jesushimself say that in the last times, deception will be so complete that through signs and wonders false prophets will mislead, if possible, even the elect(Matt. 24:24)? Did he not also declare that works of power in themselves, even those done in His name, are not evidence alone of spiritual truth andgenuineness? Listen to His words in Matthew 7:15,2023:Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheeps clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. . . . Therefore by their fruits you will know them. Noteveryone who says to Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day,Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name? And then I will declare to them, Inever knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!

In this passage Jesus presents holiness, a life of moral and spiritual purity and blameless character, as the evidence of a genuine relationship withHim rather than just works of power done in His name.8Deception in the GardenSatan had performed a great work of power in entering the body of the serpent. He even gave it the faculty of speech with which hecommunicated his words of deception into the mind of Eve. Under the impact of the doubts about Gods person and His word, Eve is soon going tobegin to move away from a godly lifestyle.Satans attack upon Gods motives (Gen. 3:5) in withholding the forbidden tree is an attack upon His character. Satan is declaring, God is nothonest. He is taking advantage of your ignorance. He says your eyes will close in death, but I tell you, your eyes will be opened. Moreover, you willbe like God.Calvin asserts that Satan is censuringGod as being moved by jealousy, and as having given the command concerning the tree, for the purposes of keeping man in an inferior rank.Because the desire of knowledge is naturally inherent in all, happiness is supposed to be placed in it; but Eve erred in not regulating the measure of her knowledgeby the will of God.And we all daily suffer under the same disease, because we desire to know more than is right, and more than God allows; whereas the principal point of wisdom isa well-regulated sobriety in obedience to God.988 8. Another area of great controversy in todays church centers around signs and wonders. See John Wimber and KevinSpringer, Power Evangelism, 1986, and Power Healing, 1987 (San Francisco: Harper and Row). Whether or not one agrees withWimber, the two books brilliantly set forth the biblical, theological, historical, and contemporary foundation for todays emphasison miracles, signs, and wonders. See also John White, When the Spirit Comes With Power (Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity, 1988).99 9. John Calvin, Calvins Commentaries (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker, 1989) 1:150151.

Eve begins to sin. The essence of sin is acting independently of the will of God. That is exactly what she is about to do. Sin had already begunthis way in the cosmic realm when Lucifer chose to act independently of the will of God. In essence he himself wanted to be God. This is how theidea of sin is first planted within the heart and mind of Eve. Act independently of God, Satan cajoles. Be God yourself.This is still humanitys problem. Men and women want to live the way they choose to live, not as God declares they should live. In other words,men and women outside of Christ want to be their own god. Unfortunately, Christians also face that struggle and often make the same selfish choices.We have to choose, not just once but daily, who will be God in our life.Ray Stedman speaks of the flesh which controls the life of unbelievers and battles to influence the life of believers as The urge to selfcenteredness within us, that distortion of human nature which makes us want to be our own godthat proud ego, that uncrucified self which is theseat of willful defiance and rebellion against authority.10How many of us as believers have accepted similar ego-centered thoughts as totally our own, not recognizing them as the voice of the serpent?Though they may first arise from within that uncrucified self, as Stedman calls the flesh, they are always reinforced by Satan, who has assignedevil spirits against each of us (Acts 5:39; 1 Cor. 7:5; 1 Thess. 3:5).11 This attack continues relentlessly against Eves mind. You will be like God.Your eyes will be opened . . . you will be like God, knowing good and evil. What does it mean to be like God, knowing good and evil? Langewrites:The knowledge . . . of good and evil, as the words are employed by Satan, must here denote not merely a condition of higher intelligence, but rather a state ofperfect independence of God. They would then know of themselves what was good and what was evil, and would no longer need the divine direction. 12

Eve has now almost reached the point of no return. I say almost because it is still not too late. She can still turn back. She can still resist theDevil even though she did not know there was a devil in Gods good creation.13She did know that God is love. He had made her beautiful and given her a perfect mate. They were, as no other human beings since, truly madefor each other. Most of their deepest human longings were fully satisfied in each other. Their home was Paradise, a garden which the Lord Himselfhad planted for them and their promised children. Except the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden, all its pleasures were available for them toenjoy.They were at peace with nature. The animals had all appeared before Adam to be named by him. Thus all were at peace with them and with eachother. They had been given the blessing of work. They were daily occupied with each other, with the animals, and with the Garden of God. It wastheir privilege to cultivate and keep Gods garden (Gen. 2:15). Finally, joy of all joys, God was constantly with them. They had the potential to knowGod as no other creature has known Him.14Also, God had made obedience simple for Adam and Eve. They had no complicated laws or rituals to memorize. All they had to do was enjoy allGod had given them while recognizing He had kept only one prerogative to Himself: He alone was God. They were always to honor Him as the LordGod (Gen. 3:8a).Thats why there had to be a forbidden tree. Being almost godlike in their lifestyle, they had to be reminded, daily, where all their blessing camefrom. And that only God was God. It was that simple.Three Steps Backwards Make a Fall1010 10. Ray C. Stedman, Spiritual Warfare (Portland, Ore.: Multnomah, 1975), 48.1111 11. See C. S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters (London: Fontana, 1963) for insight into how Satan, through his cosmic levelpowers and worker demons (Wormwood) plant evil ideas in the mind of human beings.1212 12. John Peter Lange, Commentary on the Holy Scriptures (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 1969) 1:229.1313 13. See Wenhams insightful discussion of the serpents words and Eves reaction to them: (Gordon J. Wenham, Genesis 115[Waco, Texas: Word, 1987]) 7276, 85, 8891.1414 14. Wenham, 6165, 6772.

But Eve was not satisfied. Her innocent but imperfect human nature has now responded to the subtle lies of the serpent. Instead of resisting him,realizing that whoever he was, he was anti-God, she succumbs to his deception. She soon loses her innocence. Eve then takes three fatal steps, stepswhich always are part of sins curse.1. She yields to her defiled imagination.Her mind begins to fantasize about the fruit attached to the forbidden tree. Soon it becomes more important to her than everything else in life,even more important than God.Martin Luther writes that The Satanic promise drove the divine threatening out of her thought. Now she beholds the tree with other eyes (v. 6).Three times it is said how charming the tree appeared to her.15Calvin sees Eves capitulation as a fall from faith:The faith she had in the word of God was the best guardian of her heart, and of all her senses. But now, after the heart had declined from faith, and from obedienceto the word, she corrupted both herself and all her senses, and depravity was diffused through all parts of her soul as well as her body. It is, therefore, a sign ofimpious defection, that the woman now judges the tree to be good for food, eagerly delights herself in beholding it, and persuades herself that it is desirable for thesake of acquiring wisdom; whereas before she had passed by it a hundred times with an unmoved and tranquil look. For now, having shaken off the bridle, hermind wanders dissolutely and intemperately, drawing the body with it to the same licentiousness. 16

As Eve begins to fantasize, mental images of the forbidden fruit arouse her emotions. She can almost taste the pleasures that await her. Her stirreddesires override the warnings of her reason. Her defiled imagination leads to wrong choices. Eve yields to physical desire. She sees that the tree [is]good for food (v. 6a). There is nothing wrong with food. But this is forbidden foodfood eaten out of the will of God.Eve succumbs to emotional delight: and that it [is] pleasant to the eyes (v. 6b), and to intellectual pride: and a tree desirable to make one wise(v. 6c).Was she not already wise enough? Was she not, in company with Adam, beginning to learn the wonders of God and His creation? Thoughphysically fully mature at creation, Adam and Eve, like Jesus after them, were certainly designed to increase in wisdom and stature, and in favorwith God and men (Luke 2:52).All of creation was before them to explore and understand, year upon year. As they did, their wisdom would expand until they knew everythingGod willed for them to know. Why this lust for the forbidden wisdom which only that single forbidden tree and its fruit would provide? Such is theway of sin!2. She willfully disobeys God.She took of its fruit and ate (v. 6d).Now she will be delivered from all restraints. All her doubts will disappear. She will be a truly independent being. She will finally be free tochoose for herself, not to have another choose for her. In other words, she will be her own god. Eve turns her back upon all that has governed her lifeup to now. She willfully chooses disobedience to God. She eats of the forbidden fruit, evidently with no noticeable negative effects.Sin is that way, isnt it? At first it is delightful. The promises it holds out to us seem true. Sin does bring immediate pleasures, the writer ofHebrews admits (Heb. 11:25). If it were not so, men would not be so easily engulfed by its allurements.3. She leads her loved one, Adam, to join her in the pleasures of sin.She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate (v. 6e).This is the social dimension of sin. Sin not only hurts the sinner, it hurts all who are closely related to the sinner. Sin craves company. It will breedmore sin in the lives of others, especially our loved ones. Such is the way of sin!1515 15. Lange 1:230.1616 16. Calvin, 151.

Much has been written about Adams participation in the sin of Eve. Some declare that he mutely stood by watching and listening to the entiretemptation scene, doing nothing to come to the aid of his confused wife. Others affirm that he could not resist his wifes persuasion. Still others assertthat he had to make a choice between the allurements of his wife and obedience to God.First Timothy 2:14 is often quoted to support these views. Paul writes, And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell intotransgression. I agree with Newport J. D. Whites comment in The Expositors Greek New Testament that Paul is not attempting to absolve Adam forhis sin nor place the entire blame on Eve. All Paul is doing in that passage is declaring that it was the woman who first transgressed and not Adam.17In Romans 5:1221 the same apostle puts the entire blame on Adam for having transgressed, thus bringing ruin upon the whole human race.Calvin feels that while Adam did wish to comply with Eves wishes, there was another reason that hebecame partaker of the same defection with her. And Paul elsewhere states that sin came not by the woman, but by Adam himself (Rom. 5:12) then the reproofwhich soon afterwards follows, Behold, Adam is as one of us, clearly proves that he also foolishly coveted more than was lawful, and gave greater credit to theflatteries of the devil than to the word of God. 18

Perhaps Donald Guthrie sums it up best: Whereas Eve was deceived or beguiled, Adam sinned with his eyes wide open.9I would like to close this chapter with several comments from Calvin. He asks, What was the sin of Adam and Eve? He gives various answers,including that of Augustine, who asserts that pride was the beginning of all evils, and that by pride the human race was ruined. Calvin thencomments thatif anyone prefers a shorter explanation, we may say unbelief has opened the door to ambition, but ambition has proved the parent of rebellion, to the end that men,having cast aside the fear of God, might shake off His yoke. . . . But after they had given place to Satans blasphemy, they began, like persons fascinated, to losereason and judgment; yea, since they were become the slaves of Satan; he held their very senses bound.At the same time, we must keep in memory by what pretext they were led into this delusion so fatal to themselves, and to all their posterity. Plausible was theadulation of Satan, Ye shall know good and evil; but that knowledge was therefore accursed, because it was sought in preference to the favour of God.Wherefore, unless we wish, of our own accord, to fasten the same snares upon ourselves, let us learn entirely to depend upon the sole will of God, whom weacknowledge as the Author of all good. And, since the Scripture everywhere admonishes us of our nakedness and poverty, and declares that we may recover inChrist what we have lost in Adam, let us, renouncing all self-confidence, offer ourselves empty to Christ, that He may fill us with His own riches. 20

8The Potential Demonization of the UnredeemedThe immediate result of humanitys fall was the spiritual death of the man and the woman: They were separated from the life of God. Their access tothe tree of life was cut off. God drove the man out from the Garden of Eden, to cultivate the ground from which he was taken (Gen. 3:2224).John Murray mentions five long-range results of the Fall:1The first was subjective: The Fall altered mans dispositional complex and changed his attitude toward God (Gen. 3:716). Man once found hissupreme delight in the presence of God; now he flees from Gods face.The second was objective: The Fall changed Gods relationship to man. The wrathful aspect of Gods nature hinted at in Genesis 2:17 wasrevealed after Genesis 3:9.1717 17. Newport J. D. White, The Expositors Greek New Testament, W. Robertson Nicoll, ed., (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans)4:109.1818 18. Calvin, 152.919 19. Donald Guthrie, The Pastoral Epistles (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1983a), 77.2020 20. Calvin, 154157.11 1. John Murray, Fall, The in Merrill C. Tenney, ed., ZPEB (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 1977) 2:492494.

The third was cosmic: All of creation was injured. The ground was cursed because of the Fall (Gen. 3:1719). Paul expands this by saying thatthe creation was subjected to vanity. That vanity would not be removed until the day of the revealing of the sons of God, the day of the glory ofthe children of God, the day when the redeemed experience our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body (Rom. 8:1823). Murray explainsthat with [mans] fall came the bondage of corruption for all over which he was to exercise dominion. Only with the consummation of redemptionwill the cosmos be released from the curse incident to mans sin (cf. Rom. 8:1923; 2 Pet. 3:13).The fourth result was racial: Adams and Eves fall affected the whole human race. Murray remarks:2Adam was not only the father of all mankind but he was also by divine institution the representative head. Through one trespass the judgment came unto all mento condemnation . . . through the one mans disobedience the many were made sinners (Rom. 5:1819, ASV). As all died in Adam (1 Cor. 15:22), so all sinned inAdam; for the judgment came of one unto condemnation (Rom. 5:16, ASV; cf. 5:12, 15).All mankind is reckoned as participating with Adam in his sin and therefore in the depravity which his sin entailed. This is the Biblical explanation of universal sin,condemnation and death and no other validation of racial involvement in sin is necessary or justifiable.

The fifth result was death.

THE FALL OF THE HUMAN RACE IN ADAMWithout doubt, the effect of greatest consequences of Adams fall was the fall of the entire human race. The New Testament emphasizes thisdevastating consequence more than all the others combined. In one sense, the other four mentioned by Murray are but part of this consequence (Ps.51:5). In Ephesians 2:15, the apostle Paul succinctly describes the condition of all men before being made alive by grace in Christ. Men are dead intheir trespasses and sins. They walk according to the course of this world. They walk according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spiritthat is now working in the sons of disobedience. Men live in the lusts of the flesh. They live indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind.Men are by nature the children of wrath. This is true of all mankind apart from Christ without exception, even as the rest.What an incredibly dark and graphic picture of fallen humanity! No one escapes this description. The apostle Paul includes himself, the EphesianChristians, and all humanity.THE BONDAGE OF HUMANITY TO THE DEVILAs we review the apostle Pauls sevenfold description in Ephesians 2 of humanitys sinful condition apart from faith in Christ, I would like tostress the dimension that focuses on humanitys bondage to Satan.The apostle states that all men and women outside of Christ live according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now workingin the sons of disobedience (2:2b). This portion of Scripture is not the only teaching that all those who live separated from Christ are bound bySatan. Jesus Himself said that there are only two families of humanity, the sons of the kingdom (of God) and the sons of the evil one (Matt.13:38). He underscored this when He described even the devout, religious men and women of His day who did not believe in Him as the children ofthe Devil. He distinguished clearly between true believers who are of God and the merely religious who are not of God (John 8:3847). The apostleJohn declared that the human race is composed of only two families, consisting of the children of God and the children of the devil (1 John 3:10;5:1820).The Lord Jesus further amplified His teaching on the demonic state of all unbelievers when He declared three times that Satan is the ruler ofthis world (John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11). In His redemptive commission to Saul, who became the apostle Paul, the Lord Jesus again spoke of the satanicbondage of all men, both Jews and Gentiles, apart from faith in Him:I will deliver you from the Jewish people and from the Gentiles, to whom I am sending you, to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light andfrom the dominion of Satan to God, in order that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me.(Acts 26:1718)22 2. Murray, 493.

It is the apostle Paul, however, who develops this dark, demonic side of human nature perhaps more than all the other New Testament writerscombined (1 Cor. 10:2021; 2 Cor. 4:34; Eph. 2:13; Col. 1:1314; 2:8,20; 2 Thess. 2; Heb. 2:1415). Even if Paul had not said a single additionalword about the demonic state of the redeemed beyond what he says in Ephesians 2, we would have sufficient basis for our concern for those outsideof Christ. There the apostle emphatically states that the prince of the power of the air (no reputable biblical scholar questions that the apostle isreferring to Satan) is the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience (v. 2). Adam Clark comments thatthe operations of the prince of the aerial powers are not confined to that region, he has another sphere of action, viz. the wicked heart of man; and in this he workswith energy. He seldom inspires indifference to religion; the subjects in whom he works are either determinate opposers of true religion, or they are systematic andenergetic transgressors of Gods laws.Children of disobedience. Perhaps a Hebraism for disobedient children; but taken as it stands here, it is a strong expression in which disobedience . . . appears to bepersonified; and wicked men exhibited as her children, the prince of the power of the air being their father, while disobedience is their mother. Thus they areemphatically what our Lord calls them, Matthew 13:38, children of the wicked one; for they show themselves to be of their father the devil because they will do hisworks (John 8:44).3

Calvin adds his own characteristically pointed words:4

[Paul] explains the cause of our corruption to be the dominion which the devil exercises over us. A more severe condemnation of mankind could not have beenpronounced. . . . There is no obscurity in the Apostles language. . . . All men who live according to the world, that is, according to the inclinations of the flesh, arehere declared to fight under the reign of Satan.

2 Corinthians 4:34If we add to this Pauls description in 2 Corinthians 4:34 of the supernatural cause of the unbelief of the lost, we do not err in speaking of thepotential demonization of the unredeemed.And even if5 our Gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that theymight not see the light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

Calvins discussion of this passage deals not only with the unbeliever of Pauls day but with the Manicheans who greatly disturbed the church bytheir doctrine of two first principles: a good first principle, God, and an evil one, Satanmuch like the positive and negative sides of the firstprinciple called the Force in the modern Star Wars cosmology. The Manicheans used Pauls description of Satan as o theos, god, to support theirheresy.6

33 3. Adam Clark, The Holy Bible: Commentary and Critical Notes (Cincinnati, Ohio: Applegate and Company, 1828) 2:420.44 4. John Calvin, Calvins Commentaries (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker, 1989) 21:220221.55 5. The if clause here does not imply doubt, but a statement of fact. See Calvin 20:191192; Clark, 315.66 6. Some commentators struggle with applying o theos (god) to Satan. Adam Clark is one of them. He argues the god of thisworld who blinds the unbelievers to the light of the Gospel is God Himself. He quotes St. Augustine as saying it was the opinionof all the ancients including Irenaeus, Tertullian, Chrysostom, Theodorot, Photitus, Theophylact and, of course, Augustine (Clark2:315326). As we study the great church fathers, however, we are often bewildered at some of their interpretations of Scripture.Usually historical reasons will be found for their occasional strange views. Commenting on the strange interpretations of some ofthe Fathers, Calvin wrote, we see what the heat of controversy does in carrying on disputes. Had all these men calmly readPauls words in 2 Corinthians 4:34, it would never have occurred to any of them to twist them in this way into a forced meaning;but as they were harassed by their opponents, they were more concerned to refute them, than to investigate Pauls meaning(Calvin 20:193). I agree with Calvin, as do most modern critical commentators.

Commenting on 2 Corinthians 4:4, Calvin writes, The sum is thisthat the blindness of unbelievers detracts nothing from the clearness of theGospel; for the sun is not less resplendent, that the blind do not perceive his light.7 He continues:8The devil is called the god of the wicked, on the grounds of his having dominion over them, and being worshiped by them in the place of God . . . the power ofblinding is ascribed to Satan, and dominion over unbelievers. . . . Pauls meaning . . . is that all are possessed by the devil, who do not acknowledge his doctrine tobe the sure truth of God . . . [they are] slaves of the devil.

Lewis Sperry Chafer, commenting on the same verse, says, Satan is said to be the god of this world (2 Cor. 4:4) and in authority over thisworld to the extent that he gives its kingdoms to whomsoever he wills (Luke 4:6).9Michael Green includes the world and the flesh with the power of Satan when he says that the pull of the world is so powerful against bothbeliever and unbeliever that only the Spirit of the Lord within us is a force greater than the world and can preserve us from its downward pull. Thedevil, we are reminded, endeavors to get us to walk according to the course of this world (Eph. 2:2). He is, after all, the god of this world (2 Cor.4:4).10Neil Anderson writes in The Bondage Breaker aboutthe condition of blindness which Satan has inflicted on unbelievers (2 Cor. 4:34). People cannot come to Christ unless their spiritual eyes are opened. TheodoreEpp wrote, If Satan has blinded and bound men and women, how can we ever see souls saved? This is where you and I enter the picture. Spoiling the goods of thestrongman has to do with liberating those who Satan has blinded and is keeping bound. . . . This is where prayer comes in. 11

Tom White speaks of three levels of spiritual warfare. He speaks of the cosmic level, the level of the redeemed, and the level of the unredeemed,the level we are considering in this chapter.Disobedience to the Gospel is promoted by the devil, who holds unbelievers in spiritual darkness and death. Jesus commission to Paul thus makes sense, to opentheir eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins. . . . (Acts 26:18).12

In his classic book, What Demons Can Do to Saints, the late Dr. Merrill F. Unger broke new ground in the area of biblical demonology and thecontroversial area of the demonization (which he unfortunately often termed demon possession) of some believers.13Demons attack the mind to gain a foothold in the lives of people. Satan blinds the minds of the unsaved taking them away from the light of the Gospel (2 Cor. 4:34). To resist demon influence [one] must guard against what he reads and what sort of television he permits himself to view. . . . If he is not wary, demon influencemay merge into demon obsession. If not curbed, demon invasion may ultimately eventuate.

Few believers with a high view of Scripture raise any serious objections when they read these words because this state of bondage, slavery, evenpartial control by the Devil is biblical. But the moment an experienced evangelist-Bible teacher-counselor-deliverance minister14 like myself or oneof my colleagues raises the issue of the potentially demonized state of the unredeemed, people get nervous. One reason for this reaction is theequating of demonization with demon possession.77 7. Calvin 20:192.88 8. Calvin 20:193194.99 9. Lewis Sperry Chafer, Systematic Theology (Dallas, Texas: Dallas Seminary Press, 1947) 2:51.1010 10. Michael Green, I Believe in Satans Downfall (Grand Rapids: Mich.: Eerdmans, 1981), 54.1111 11. Neil Anderson, The Bondage Breaker (Eugene, Ore.: Harvest House, 1990a).1212 12. Tom White, The Believers Guide to Spiritual Warfare (Ann Arbor, Mich.: Servant Publications, 1990), 22. I see four levels:cosmic, personal, pastoral, and evangelistic.1313 13. Merrill F. Unger, What Demons Can Do to Saints (Chicago: Moody, 1977), 90.1414 14. That is not the name I would choose for myself, but it is the name others give me and my colleagues of all theologicalpersuasions who constantly minister deliverance to the suffering, the demonically afflicted, and usually mentally-emotionallyagonized fellow human beings. When criticized for my ministry, I often repeat D. L. Moodys famous words, I like my way ofdoing it better than your way of not doing it.

REVERSING AN UNFORTUNATE PRACTICE

It is difficult to say when the terms demon possession and demon possessed first began to appear in translations of the Bible. Evidently Bibletranslators chose these terms as they endeavored to describe the more advanced stages of demonization revealed in Scripture. The practice perhapscame from the Latin Vulgate, which uses both. The King James Version, done in the seventeenth century, uses both terms, as does the New AmericanStandard and many other modern versions. Some, however, have wisely chosen more neutral terms like demoniacs, having evil spirits, or oneunder the power of demons. These are much more accurate translations from the Greek than demon possessed and demon possession.Probably none of the Bible translators had any personal experience with the demonized. Also, most probably had little accurate information howdemonization really occurs and what its true impact is upon the life of its victim. Besides, the translators were thrice removed from the biblicalcontext.15As has been true since biblical times, there have probably been many cases of demonization which were not as far advanced as the advancedcases mentioned in Scripture. What kind of ministry those people received is not clarified in the New Testament.Theologians, Bible scholars, commentators, preachers, evangelists, and missionaries for centuries have unfortunately followed the practice of theKJV in its use of demon possession, demon possessed, even devil possessed. These words have been almost universally used to refer to themore serious cases of the invasion of human beings by alien spirits.Books and articles describing deliverance from severe demonization have also used the same terms. This is evident in Demon Possession, editedby J. Warwick Montgomery, which contains the major papers presented at the Theological, Psychological, Medical Symposium on the PhenomenaLabeled As Demonic sponsored by the Christian Medical Society at the University of Notre Dame, January 811, 1975.16Demon possession is certainly more sensational than demonization, but sensationalism must be thrown out. Many of us who are involved inministry to the demonically afflicted are saddened by all the sensationalism. There is no room for dramatics, grandstanding, and platform spectacles.Deliverance is often hard, even agonizing work, but necessary for the extension of Gods compassion to hurting, demonically afflicted people.I believe Satan is happy with the words devil possessed, demon possessed, and demon possession. These words magnify Satans power anddegrade human beings. Satan loves this. I want to magnify Gods power and degrade Satan. Why not join the cause, and once and for all reject themisnomer demon possession? I believe that will be a real psychological blow to Satans kingdom and help demonically afflicted people as well.Fortunately, the practice of using these terms is now in the process of correction because of renewed historical-contextual studies of Scripture andrenewed experience with the demonized.I would probably be safe in saying that this present generation of Christian leaders is perhaps the first in centuries, perhaps since the days of St.Augustine and the pioneer missionaries, to break into an aggressive ministry to the demonized, both believers and unbelievers.17This renewed experience in counseling severe cases of demonization with diverse types of power encounters and deliverance experiences over aperiod of years has caused thousands of us who are theologically trained to look anew at our interpretation of biblical satanology and demonology. Asa result, we have found that some dimensions of our traditional theology of evil supernaturalism are inaccurate both biblically and historically.As Dr. Timothy Warner points out, the best word to refer to all forms of demonic invasion, attachment, or partial control of a human life isdemonization not demon possession.181515 15. I say thrice removed because none of the biblical writers describe their own experiences with demons, but only that ofothers. This means that the modern biblical translator and commentator is almost 2,000 years removed from the storiespresented by the biblical writers. Also, he is living in a world view context quite different from that of the biblical writers.1616 16. J. Warwick Montgomery, ed., Demon Possession (Minneapolis, Minn.: Bethany Fellowship, 1976).1717 17. We will deal with the extremely controversial issue of the possible demonization of some true Christians later in our study.1818 18. Timothy M. Warner, Spiritual Warfare (Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway, 1991), 7980. For other excellent critiques of the wordsdemon possessed, demon possession and related words, and the preference for demonization, see Fred C. Dickason, Demon

We obtained our English word demon by transliterating the Greek word daimon. We should have done the same thing with the Greek word daimonizomaia verbform from the same Greek root. It would come into English as demonize, and we could then speak of the degree to which a person could be demonized ratherthan being limited to the either-or options imposed by the possessednot possessed view. . . . A Christian may be attacked by demons and may be affectedmentally and sometimes physically at significant levels . . . , but spiritual possession clearly implies ownership and would seem to include the control of oneseternal destiny. In either case it would be impossible to be owned and controlled by Satan and have a saving relationship with Christ at the same time. So if thequestion is, Can a Christian be demon-possessed? The answer is clearly no.

Unger defines demonization as being under the control of one or more demons.19 I temper that definition by adding being under the partialcontrol of one or more demons.Christians can be demonized, but not demon possessed. The issue must be taken further, however. Can unbelievers really be demon possessed?Can they be so totally controlled by Satan and his demons they have no control over themselves nor any responsibility for their actions? I dont thinkso.A LOOK AT THE BIBLICAL WORDSThe main biblical words used in reference to demonization are, first, the nouns daimon and daimonion in Greek, both translated demon. Theyare also used to refer to pagan gods which, as the Scriptures teach, are demons, not God (Deut. 32:17; 1 Cor. 10:2021; Rev. 9:20).Next is the noun pneuma, spirit, in this case for a demon spirit. It is often accompanied with the adjective akatharotos, unclean, or poneros,evil. If pneuma is combined with akatharotos we have unclean spirit. This title is common for demons in Mark, Luke, Acts, and Revelation

(Mark 1:23,2627; 3:11,30; 5:2f; 6:7; 7:25; Luke 4:33,36; 6:18; Acts 5:16; 8:7; Rev. 16:13; 18:2). If pneuma is combined with poneros we have evilspirit (1 Sam. 16:1416,23; 18:10; 19:9; Luke 7:21; 8:2; Acts 19:1213,1516).On one occasion we find the unique phrase having a spirit of an unclean demon, echon pneuma daimonion akatharton (Luke 4:33).Unfortunately the KJV translates it had a spirit of an unclean devil and the NAS possessed by the spirit of an unclean demon. The NIV translates itpossessed by an evil spirit, the AMPLIFIED by possessed by the foul spirit of a demon. This is the type of unfortunate Bible translation one faceswith most English versions of the New Testament when they deal with the spirit world.Next is the adjective daimonides. It is used only once, in James 3:15. Vine says it signifies proceeding from, or resembling a demon,demoniacal.20 The KJV unfortunately translates it devilish. The NAS has it right; it uses demonic.One of the most important words used to describe the action of a demon within a human being is the verb daimonizomai. Dr. Merrill F. Unger inhis earlier writings translated the word demon possessed. In What Demons Can Do to Saints, Unger admitted this is not the best translation.21 He

says daimonizomai (means) being demonized, i.e., under the control of one or more demons. . . . All demonic invasion is demonization ofwhatever degree of mildness or severity.Then there is echei daimonion, to have a demon (Luke 7:33; John 7:20). This, along with demonized are probably the best words in English torefer to those who have been invaded by evil spirits.22Finally, we have the participle daimonizomenos, used some 12 times in the Greek Testament. C. Fred Dickason says thatit is used only in the present tense, indicating the continued state of one inhabited by a demon, or demonized. . . . The participle in its root form means a demoncaused passivity. This indicates a control other than that of the person who is demonized. . . . He is regarded as the recipient of the demons action. 23

A final reason for rejecting the words demon possession is that the state of being completely, continually, and totally possessed or controlled bydemons would be very, very rare, if it even exists at all.24 Such persons would be totally unresponsible for any of their actions since the demonswould possess and control them at all times. The Scriptures never place total responsibility for human evil upon Satan and his demons. Persons arealways held accountable for their actions. However, persons severely demonized over a long period of time by extremely powerful demons find itdifficult to maintain self-control when the demons are in manifestation, leading to what psychologists call diminished capacity. Mark 5 is a case inpoint. Mark 9 with Luke 9 give added details of the story.Thus the terms I am endorsing benefit our gospel ministry in these ways: they conform more closely to the biblical words and do not importextra-biblical ideas; they preserve the dignity of those suffering from demonization; and they help acknowledge and deal with a broader front ofspiritual warfare, overcoming the all-or-nothing split communicated through the label of demonic possession.A wild-looking, young wrestler was brought to me for counseling. As I tried to lead him to Christ I was quite certain that he was demonized butdid not try to make contact with the demons. I tried only to lead him to Christ. Suddenly another personality took control of him, screaming,swearing, and threatening me and a friend sitting in on the counseling session. The wrestler was big and strong enough to kill us with his bare handseven if no demons were present. I took authority over them and forbid them to hurt me, my friend, or my office. The demons then turned on theirvictim, the wrestler. Using his own mammoth hands, they tried to choke him to death. With my hands, I was easily able to pull his hands from histhroat with a word of command, while asking the Lord to send his angels to subdue him. They did so, and the demons were powerless to do any moreharm.The young man wanted to be free. He had great difficulty, however, in regaining self-control. He needed my help and that of Gods angels to holdin subjection the destructive evil personalities raging in his body. Like the Gerasene demonic of Mark 5, he had little control over his own actionswhen the demons were in manifestation.DEMONIZATION AND INDIVIDUAL RESPONSIBILITYPsychologist Rodger K. Bufford speaks of a state of diminished mental and volitional capacities that exists not only in some cases of brainmental malfunctions but also in severe cases of demonization.25 In such a state not only may an individual lose control when the demons take it, butthe individual may become so effectively disabled mentally that the person may be unable to seek help or even realize a need for it. Bufford comparesthe diminished capacity of the severely demonized with that of those who abuse alcohol, especially those who are genetically predisposed to2222 22. Unger, 8687.2323 23. Dickason, 3738.2424 24. The only persons who may be truly demon possessed are those who, like spiritist mediums, actually and consciouslyinvite evil spirits to possess them. This voluntary possession is unlike the involuntary demonization recorded in Scripture. Perhapsthe Antichrist and the Beasts (if these are persons) of Revelation will be examples of persons truly possessed by Satan or otherpowerful evil spirits.2525 25. Rodger K. Bufford, Counseling and the Demonic (Dallas, Texas: Word, 1988), 110111.

alcoholism [and] may be unable to stop [drinking], and may have greatly lessened abilities to think rationally or to act morally as well. Yet Buffordconcludes that such demonized persons remain morally responsible because theyhave reached this state through a variety of conscious decisions involving choosing to come under demonic influence. The Christian, with the indwelling HolySpirit, belongs to Gods kingdom, thus is protected from possession, and has the resources through the Body of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit to resistSatans efforts. (Eph. 2:16; 6:1218; Col. 1:1314)

I give general support to Buffords observations. I cannot concur with what Bufford states in this last paragraph, however. Most individuals do notchose to come under demon influence. This is especially true if they have been demonized from infancy or childhood. It is true, however, that Godstill holds them responsible for all their choices. Humans, though fallen, still bear the image of God. As such, we possess the right and the capabilityto resist the entrance of demons into our lives if we are aware of what is occurring.The Case of ThadiusWhile serving as Associate Professor of Intercultural Studies at Biola University and Talbot Theological Seminary, my wife Loretta and I wereoccasionally invited as guests of the senior graduation class for their annual graduation banquet. One year we were seated at a round table with abouta dozen students. Most knew about my counseling-deliverance ministry, and one of them asked, Dr. Murphy, have you had any unusual cases ofdemonic encounter in these days?Why, yes, I replied. I had one just a few hours ago. I had to hurry to get here in time for the banquet.Please tell us what happened, several asked.I told them some of the events leading up to the power encounter which had occurred early that afternoon. This was my third session with theyoung woman. Several demons had been expelled in the past. That day I had kept one in manifestation26 in the presence of God and the deliverancegroup. He was a weak, fearful demon who called itself Fear.27I forced him to expose the entire demonic hierarchy working in the woman and in her entire family. I have learned how to keep demons fromlying to me, so the demons finking on the other demons was later checked out and proved to be truthful.In the process of working with Fear, who was continually pleading with me to send him out because he was terrified of the other demons, anotherdemon came into manifestation with such brazenness and arrogance that all of us were startled for a moment. He burst into manifestation and yelledat me,I am Thadius, and I am in charge here. What do you think you are doing? Trying to destroy us?No, not yet, I replied. Not until the Lord tells me to get rid of you. Then He will destroy you, not me. I command you to shut up. You will notsay one more word but will only answer my questions truthfully.I then went through the process of assuring as much as possible that his answers would be true. What demons voluntarily reveal may not be true.What they are forced to reveal will usually be true.28 That is why I do not allow demons to lead any type of conversation. I always lead theconversation in the authority of the reigning Christ.2626 26. I do not usually allow or hold demons in manifestation but try to keep them quiet and speak only to the mind of thevictim. On other occasions, as Jesus and Paul did, when they come up into manifestation I may hold them there for purposes I willmention later. If done right, it both frightens and weakens them.2727 27. The question of demons of fear and others that take on functional as well as other names will be dealt with later. I amonly recounting here what occurred. I recorded the session so the demons voice and those of several others are recorded andcan easily be distinguished from the voice of the young lady.2828 28. I say usually because they will not reveal all that is going on in the life of their victim. They will usually only revealpartial truth. They will hide all that they are able to hide. Also what they do reveal may not be 100% true in all its details. Themain thrust of what they are forced to reveal will usually be true if one knows how to compel them to tell the truth.

Who are you? I asked.

I am Thadius, and I am in charge here, he replied.I thought Liar was in charge, I said.Yes, he was, he replied. But you sent him out yesterday and now I am in charge.Arent you sad that Liar the strong demon has gone out? I asked.No, because now I am the one in charge, he boasted.Thadius was one of the most arrogant demons I have ever dealt with. His sense of self-importance and command permeated the atmosphere, incontrast to Fears whining. I had to immediately assert authority over him, or he would have taken authority over me and the entire session. When hesaw that I was not intimidated by him, he soon obeyed every command I gave, but always with defiance and arrogance.Awareness and Effective Resistance: Why Deception Is Satans Key StrategyOh, I know Thadius, said a young woman seated across the banquet table.The young man seated next to her was one of my students. He was from a Jewish home. He said, Dr. Murphy, forgive me for not introducingyou to my wife, Ruth. She is also from a Jewish home. She had some demonic problems before finding Christ.Ruth, you say you know Thadius! Please tell us your story, I asked.Several years ago before I came to believe in Jesus as the Messiah, I was engaged to a young man. He was into some kind of cult, some form ofwitchcraft or the like. He continually tried to persuade me to accept his spirits into my life. He said we had to believe the same things if we were to bemarried. He said his chief spirit guide was called Thadius.As a Jewess I had problems with what he was saying. I thought I loved him, however. I wanted to be one with him in marriage, but I wastroubled by this thing of spirit guides.One night in bed I was wrestling with all this when I became aware of another presence in the room with me. I cant tell you how it happened,but a spirit appeared. He called himself Thadius. He said he wanted to come into my life and make me one with my fiance.I was terrified. Suddenly I realized what was happening. From my Old Testament background I remembered the evil spirits of paganism thattroubled my people. I wanted it to go away from me. Suddenly I found myself crying out loud, In the name of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,I tell you I want nothing to do with you, evil spirit. Get away from my life and do not return.Immediately it left me and has never come back. I dont know who Thadius is, but I do know he is an evil religious spirit, she said.This story illustrates my point that even persons like Ruth who was not a believer in Jesus as Christ and Lord at the time can resist the entrance ofdemons into their life if they know what is occurring.Again, that is one reason why the Devils main strategy is deception. Usually demons, who are devils in the sense of sharing the Devils natureand being totally identified with his cause, do not make the bold approach followed by Thadius with Ruth. And this is further evidence that thoughSatan and his fallen angels possess wisdom man does not possess, they are far from being omniscient. They often blunder as Thadius did. In fact,sometimes they appear quite stupid.Ruth, a woman created in the image of God, was able to forbid the entrance of Thadius into her life. This is probably true of all normal,rationally-minded adults, young people, and even children, if the latter are taught about the spirit world. Otherwise, children, because of theirinnocence and passivity, are more easily susceptible to demonic indwelling than adults.Thus no one can truthfully say, the Devil made me do it. Regardless of how demons are able to gain entrance into human lives either in infancyor in later adulthood, the Bible always holds the individuals accountable for their actions. Regardless of the amount of control demons presentlyexercise their victims at one point had enough authority to resist their evil desires. I have heard more than one demon say on the way out, I mightjust as well go. He doesnt listen to me anymore.

1.2.3.4.5.6.7.

That is why in pre-deliverance counseling29 it is crucial to bring the counselee to at least two firm convictions. First, if in truth they do havedemons, they must recognize it. Second, they must realize that they have authority over these demons. They must learn the difference between theirthoughts and those of the demons residing within them. When they recognize which is which, the demons, who have hidden their presence until now,are exposed and their control over areas of the victims life is weakened.DEMONIZATION AND EVANGELISMI do not simply cast demons out of the life of unbelievers. I first try to lead the unbelievers to faith in Christ. That is my mission. Jesus did notsay, Go into all the world and cast demons out of all creation, but Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to all creation (Mark 16:15).If someone refuses to come to Christ, do I leave them with their demons? That depends on each individual case. In my experience to date inindividual deliverance sessions, if the deliverance is preceded by careful pre-deliverance counseling, the unsaved person will always come to Christ. Icant remember any who have refused.I suggest that if the person is having difficulty coming to Christ, demons possibly are blocking their mind, emotions, and will. The counselor mustgo after these demons and either expel them or bind them from interfering in the individuals faith act. They will usually be spirits of confusion,unbelief, antichrist, religious spirits, witchcraft, sexual spirits, death spirits, rebellion spirits, or the like. Once their activity is nullified, the victim caneasily come to Christ if he wants to. This is true of Muslims, Hindus, cultists, Satanists, witches and warlocks, or whomever.Very often the most difficult hand-to-hand warfare with demons that the counselor faces will be with these blocking demons. If possible,therefore, we should enlist the resistance of the victim and not quit until all the evil spirits are either expelled or shut down. In every case, we havealways won this battle if the victims (who often suffer most during this kind of direct confrontation) and the deliverance team have been willing tohold the battle lines until the enemy is defeated. If this can be done without the demons coming into manifestation, and it usually can, so much thebetter.ConclusionsScripture describes the unredeemed as follows:The unredeemed are all children of the Devil (Matt. 13:3739; John 8:44; 1 John 3:310a).They are in the kingdom of Satan (Col. 1:1214).They are all bound by Satan (Acts 26:18).They are all blinded by Satan so that they cannot in themselves receive the gospel (2 Cor. 4:34; see 2 Cor. 3:1415 for the human source of thisblindness).They are all in the power of the Evil One (1 John 5:19); in his grip and under his dominion . . . asleep in the arms of Satan, John R. W. Stottaffirms.30They are all Satans property (Matt. 12:2229).They are all enslaved to a world system controlled by Satan (John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11; 1 John 5:19).2929 29. Some deliverance ministers have such a negative view of counseling they refuse to do pre-deliverance or postdeliverance counseling. They say Jesus did not and they do not. They follow what a pastor friend calls the yank and jerkmethod. They yank out the easier demons and get the tough ones out in a series of jerks and send the person on their waywith perhaps a few written helps and declare their mission completed. I wonder what becomes of these poor people a few days orweeks later? Since I have not done accurate scientific research to discover the answer, I cannot say. I do have enough personalexperience with this procedure, however, to know that the latter state of many of these people becomes worse than the first(Matt. 12:4345).3030 30. John R. W. Stott, The Epistles of John, TNTC (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1983), 193.

8.

They are surrendered to the prince of the power of the air. Their life is energized by the power of evil supernaturalism, one commentator affirms(Eph. 2:2).31Four ConclusionsIn light of these scriptural declarations we draw the following fourfold conclusion about the status of the unredeemed and the warfare we willface in bringing them to faith in Christ.1. All non-Christians are spiritually lost without faith in the Lord Jesus Christ (John 14:6; Acts 4:12; 26:18; Rom. 1:3).2. All non-Christians are potentially demonized, to one degree or another. I am not affirming that demons have been able to invade the life of allunbelievers. I believe that in most cases they would like to do so if they could get in, but they cannot. Our discussion about humans bearing the imageof God and thus being able to resist the entrance of demons fits here.What I am asserting is that since the unredeemed are spiritually lost and belong to Satan, potentially all could become demonized. We mustalways be alert to the possible attachment of demons to the lives of all non-Christians, even when they do not manifest the personality malfunctionsusually associated with demonization.3. Our ministry of world evangelism definitely includes the dimension of demonic warfare.4. This spiritual warfare dimension of Christian witness arouses the resistance of the kingdom of darkness against our every step to win men toChrist and bring them under the rule of God (Dan. 10:1021; Acts 13:612; 16:1624; 19:1118).Therefore, we must learn the spirit world as the Scriptures instruct us (2 Cor. 2:11). We must not be ignorant of Satans schemes against bothbelievers and unbelievers. Through prayer, the spoken Word, and persistent faith, we must learn to challenge the principalities and powers who ruleover individual human lives, societies, and areas of the world (Eph. 3:10; 6:1218; Rev. 12:11).Effective evangelistic ministry to the demonically influenced demands that we truly believe that evil supernaturalism is already defeated! Satanand his demons have been dethroned from their position of authority in the heavenlies through the Lords redemptive activity.The Key Issue: AuthorityThe basic issue in spiritual warfare is that of authority. Perhaps for this reason our Lord declared His absolute authority in heaven and earth andHis continual presence with His disciples before He sent them out into world evangelism (Matt. 28:1820). A paraphrase of the Lords words in verse18 of Matthew 28 could be, There exist powers, both in heaven and on earth, which will oppose you as you seek to carry out my redemptivemission. Be of good cheer! I have been given absolute, total authority both in heaven over the cosmic beings who will oppose you and on earth overtheir human agents who will resist you. No authority is greater than my authority; I am the Lord over heaven and earth. Therefore, you can go andyou will be able to make disciples of all the people groups among the nations of the earth.A paraphrase of our Lords words in verse 20b could be, I want to give you a further word of encouragement. As you seek to fulfill myredemptive mandate, you will be successful. Even though you will face evil cosmic and earthly power which will oppose you and harass you, be ofgood cheer! I your Lord, the Lord of this universe, will be with you, because, by my Spirit, I will be within you always (John 1517; Acts 16:67;Rom. 89; Gal. 4:6), until the every end of this age of redemption.Our Authority Is DelegatedOurs is a delegated authority. In Luke 10 Jesus gives total authority over all dimensions of evil supernaturalism to all of His disciples, not just thetwelve apostles (Luke 10:1,1719). The identity of the seventy disciples is unknown. This group of men was large enough for the Lord both to trainand to oversee. Because this is the only reference to them, it is assumed they did not give up their jobs and homes to follow their Master as did thetwelve apostles. Today we would call them laymen.

Calvin suggests that as the twelve symbolized the twelve tribes of Israel, the seventy symbolized the elders chosen by Moses to help himadminister the affairs of the people, which later became the Jewish council of the seventy, the Sanhedrin.32The Lord Jesus appointed the seventy along with the twelve: They are called seventy others. He sent them two and two, following the patternHe had established earlier with the twelve (Mark 6:7; 11:1; 14:13). This team ministry pattern had strong historical precedent in the Old Testament.Biblical Precedent for Team MinistryWhen God established His laws for His covenant people, the principle was on the evidence of two witnesses. Punishment was never to behanded out on the evidence of one (Deut. 17:6; 19:15; 1 Tim. 5:19). The principle soon became, Every fact is to be confirmed by the testimony oftwo or three witnesses (2 Cor. 13:1; cf. Matt. 18:16). God said that by His power one shall chase a thousand but two put ten thousand to flight.The writer of Ecclesiastes reinforced this principle: Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labors. For if either of themfalls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls where there is not another to lift him up . . . if one can overpower him who isalone, two can resist him (Eccl. 4:912). Amos brought one necessary requirement to this team, however: Do two men walk together unless theyhave made [are in] an agreement? (Amos 3:3).Jesus showed the spiritual authority behind two godly men who are in agreement when He said, If two of you agree on earth about anything thatthey may ask, it shall be done for them by my Father who is in heaven. For where two or three have gathered together in My name, there am I in theirmidst (Matt. 18:1920). Christian prophets are instructed to speak two or three per church service and the others pass judgment. Finally, when thelast days of Gods witness upon earth arrive, He will raise up two witnesses, not just one, who will speak His word and manifest His power before thenations (Rev. 11:1f). Evidently God does not usually call or send out Lone Rangers who are a law unto themselves. Certainly this has been proven tobe true in a spiritual warfare ministry. He always calls men to function within a team, even if one, like the apostle Paul, is the outstanding leader ofthe team (Acts 1328). It is interesting to observe the apostle Paul as a team leader. He definitely was the leader, yet in certain crises when his teamhad to take leadership, they did. Paul submitted to the team consensus (Acts 19:3031).Jesus sent His disciples out two and two ahead of Him to every city and place where He Himself was going to come. They were to be Hisheralds to prepare the way for His coming. No wonder they immediately ran into spiritual warfare (vv. 1720).Although the seventy were not apostles, in Calvins well chosen words they were His secondary heralds.33 It was to them, not to the twelve, thatChrist spoke the all-inclusive, authoritative, spiritual warfare revelation.And He said to them, I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning. Behold, I have given you authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over allthe power of the enemy, and nothing shall injure you. (Luke 10:1819)34

Demonization, Responsibility, and Authority: Pats Story

We all have the authority over all the power of the enemy promised by our Commander-in-Chief in verse 19. In His name, that is, in Hisauthority, we too can exclaim Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name! (v. 17).My daughter Carolyn attended college while living at home. Being a swimmer, she spent each evening at the college pool. There she becameacquainted with a young man who was on the college swim team. One day she told me about him.Dad, I met this handsome, neat guy named Pat at school. Hes on the swim team. I have been trying to witness to him but he says hes an atheist.Hes one of the most moral guys I have ever met. He never swears. His talk is always above reproach and hes a perfect gentleman around girls. Iwish I could reach him for Christ. Could we all pray for his salvation?Of course we all agreed. Weeks went by, but Pats spiritual resistance remained unchanged. He was quite willing to talk about God and Christ, buthe had no personal interest in God for his own life. He was interested in Carolyn, however.3232 32. John Calvin, Commentary on the Gospel of Luke (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker, 1989) 16:24.3333 33. Calvin, 24.3434 34. See my in-depth study of Luke 10:1721 in chapter 40.

One day Carolyn asked if we could invite Pat to go to church with us the next Sunday morning and have lunch with us afterwards. Then I couldhave some time alone with him to talk to him about Christ. We agreed. I happened to be speaking in the college Sunday school class that Sunday, andPat attended. He was polite and seemed right at home with the other college young people. After lunch that Sunday I asked if we could talk alone,and he readily agreed.We talked for at least an hour, but got nowhere. Though Pat listened attentively and was very courteous, he maintained his unbelief in theexistence of a personal God.I wish I could believe like you and Carolyn, Mr. Murphy, he said, but I cannot. I dont know why, but I cannot. Its all very confusing to me. Idont usually have trouble thinking things through, but when it comes to God and Christ I draw a blank. It doesnt have any meaning to me.Later I told Carolyn that Pats mind was like the mind spoken about by the apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 4:4. The god of this world has blindedhis mind until he cannot grasp even the elementary things about God, man, sin, Christ, and salvation, I told Carolyn. I have never dealt with aperson so totally blind to spiritual truth.I know you like him. I do too. We all do. He is a gentle, kind, and courteous young man. But unless his mind and heart are opened by God, thereis no future for you with him. You would not want to spend the rest of your life with an atheist.Carolyn agreed but determined to continue her witness. I could see she felt drawn to him but trusted her to make the right decision at the righttime.A couple of months later I was on a long overseas trip. In Greece I found a letter from Carolyn waiting for me. It was a bombshell.Dear Dad, Carolyn wrote. The most amazing thing happened with Pat. After you left I really began to press him about his need of Christ. I toldhim I was tired of his intellectual reasons for being an atheist. I was just as intellectual as he; yet Christ was the most real person in my life.I told him his problems were not intellectual but moral and spiritual. He was a sinner but too proud to admit it and humble himself before God,confess his sins, and choose to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. I told him he was blinded, confused, and bound by the Deviland that he was responsible to turn against the Devil and believe God.I had learned that Pat had come from a very dysfunctional home. His mother and dad separated when he was a teenager. He loved his dad verymuch, but he had no respect for his mother. He saw his home disintegrate before his eyes. Shortly after the separation, his dad suddenly died of aheart attack. His mother then lied about his age and put him in the military to get him out of the home when he was only 17.He asked me, Where was this so-called God of yours while my home was breaking up? What kind of God is He to allow such evil in theworld?I told him that I did not have all the answers for his anger with God and life, Carolyn wrote. But I had the answer to his confusion, and thatanswer is in Christ. Finally I told him that unless he opened his mind and heart to give God a chance in his life, we would have to stop going outtogether. The boyfriend I wanted had to love Christ even as I did.Dad, we were sitting together on a park bench in Starboard Park near our home. It had rained heavily the night before, and the ground wascovered with water and mud puddles. Suddenly the weirdest thing I have ever seen in my life happened before my eyes.Pats body levitated off the bench and he was thrown backwards over the back of the bench. He hit a mud puddle with a splash. He rolled arounduntil he was totally covered with mud. He suddenly sprang up and jumped around on his haunches, just like an ape. His eyes were glazed over andradiated hatred against me. He stuck his tongue out and hissed and spit at me. Then from his throat came a torrent of swear words and blasphemiesthat were totally demonic.Dad, I knew that was not Pat glaring at me, spitting at me, cursing me and Christ, and hopping around me in the mud. It was a demon.I tried to remember all you had taught us about dealing with demons in manifestation, but I was alone and I was scared. I began to quote Godsword against them and that made them even more furious. I prayed, cried, and continued to quote Gods promises of protection for me and salvation

for Pat through the blood of Christ. That really agitated the demons. Finally, I began to sing the childrens testimony chorus, Jesus Loves Me This IKnow. I changed the words and sang by faith Pats salvation in his behalf since he could not do it himself,Jesus loves Pat, this I know,For the Bible tells me so.

As I did so I began to march in circles around Pat, singing with all my heart. The demons never took their eyes off me but hopped around in themud as I circled them.After an hour of this I was so tired I could hardly walk. I knew I needed help. I remembered that two of our mission leaders who had experiencewith demons lived near by, so I jumped in the car and went to their home. Thank God both were home and agreed to return with me to help set Patfree.When we reached the park Pat was not there. He lives in an apartment not too far away, so we went there. We found the door open and Patsitting on the couch, half dazed but in his right mind. The men prayed with him. There were still some hang-on demons, but basically Pat was free. Carolyn, Pat said, I do not remember one thing that happened from the time you began to speak firmly to me about my sin of pride and myneed to repent, humble myself, and accept Christ as my Lord and Savior. Suddenly everything went blank. The next thing I knew, I was sitting in amud puddle in the park covered with mud, and you were gone. I could not figure out what had happened to me or why you had left. I walked home intotal confusion. I took off my filthy clothes and began to take a shower. As I looked up to adjust the shower head I saw a vision. The cross of Christ wassuperimposed across the shower head and suddenly I was free. All that raced through my mind was,Jesus loves me this I know,For the Bible tells me so.

I cried my confession to God, and He heard me. I called upon Jesus, and He came into my life and washed all my sins away. I now know there is a God and He is my Father. I know that Jesus Christ is real, and He is now my Lord and Savior. Though I have told this story dozens of times, it still brings tears to my eyes and joy to my heart. When I returned from overseas I spent hourswith Pat in prayer and Bible study. He had already joined the college group of a local church and was witnessing for Christ.Was he demonized? Yes, he was severely demonized. When did the demons go out? I dont know. Possibly they left when Carolyn wascommanding their exit in the park and proclaiming Pats salvation by faith in song. I have seen it happen that way.Perhaps they went out when the Lord came to Pat in the shower and, for the first time in his life, he could believe and proclaim his own salvation.Was that the last of Pats problems with demons? No. He was attacked again and again. He had to learn ongoing self deliverance. He had to cometo stronger Christians for prayer and even more deliverance. Deliverance is more of a process than a once-and-for-all-crisis-event for almost allseverely demonized persons. It was so for Pat.How is Pat today? He has walked faithfully with God for many years now. He is a wonderful husband and father. He is an outstanding churchleader. He is one of my closest Christian friends.

SECTION II

The Normal Christian Life

9

Abundant and Conquering

John 10, Romans 67To understand dimensions of spiritual warfare, we must first discover what Christ came to accomplish in our life. We have already referred tosalvation and Gods plan as salvation history. Also we have referred to justification for our sins and regeneration to newness of life.When we talk of the Christian life we are in the area of sanctification. The word comes from the Greek word hagiasmos, very commonly used inthe New Testament. Vine says it refers to a life of separation unto God and the holy life which results from that separation.[It is] that relationship with God into which men enter by faith in Christ, Acts 26:18; 1 Corinthians 6:11, and to which their sole title is the death of Christ,Ephesians 5:25,26; Colossians 1:22; Hebrews 10:10,29; 13:12.Sanctification is also used in the New Testament of the separation of the believer from evil things and ways. Sanctification is Gods will for the believer, 1Thessalonians 4:3, and His purpose in calling him by the Gospel, verse 7; it must be learned from God, verse 4, as He teaches it by His word, John 17:17,19; cf.Psalms 17:4; 119:9, and it must be pursued by the believer, earnestly and undeviatingly, 1 Timothy 2:15; Hebrews 12:14.. . . The holy character, hagiosune, 1 Thessalonians 3:13, is not vicarious, i.e., it cannot be transferred or imputed, it is an individual possession built up, little bylittle, as the result of obedience to the Word of God, and of following the example of Christ, Matthew 11:29; John 13:15; Ephesians 4:20; Philippians 2:5; in thepower of the Holy Spirit, Romans 8:13; Ephesians 3:16.1

This sanctified life I call the Normal Christian Life. God wants us to live a holy life. The enemy resists our efforts to comply. Thus the normalChristian life is lived in the context of on-going spiritual warfare.Among the many features describing the Christian life, I have chosen two, one given by Jesus and the other by the apostle Paul. These two coverprobably all the other general dimensions of the normal Christian life. They are an abundant life and a conquering life.Jesus portrays himself as the Good Shepherd in John 10:118. In verse 10b he states succinctly the purpose of His incarnation: I came that theymay have life; and might have it abundantly.THE ABUNDANT LIFEOne of the results of this abundant life in Christ Jesus is that we as His sheep now walk in the light. We often sing, Once I was blind but now Ican see. The light of the world is Jesus. We are testifying that before coming to Christ we looked for life but did not find it. We lived a make-believelife of striving for self fulfillment and so-called happiness. We actually lived and walked in darkness, though we called it light. This is what Jesusmeant when He said, If the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness (Matt. 6:23).There is a twofold source of that darkness in which we walked! The human source, the hardness of the human heart (2 Cor. 3:19; Eph. 4:1719),and the supernatural source (2 Cor. 4:34).Whether we felt miserable or happy, we preferred our misery or happiness to God. As one young man told me, I know I am not living as Godwould have me live, but, frankly, it is fun. The world is very attractive to me. That is the natural, human source of that darkness.Then there is the supernatural source, the mind-blinding work of the god of this world, Satan (2 Cor. 4:34). Paul minces no words in hisgraphic description of the operations of the Devil within the mind and life of the unbelieving. Add to it Ephesians 2:13, and the picture grows evendarker. Satan does not want men to see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.I was once trying to lead a man to Christ whom I suspected might be demonized. Suddenly an angry demon came into manifestation, protestingmy efforts at leading his victim to faith in Christ.Shut up! it screamed at me. Dont tell him that. He is mine. He belongs to me. I wont let him believe in your Jesus. I keep him fromunderstanding your so-called gospel. I hate you.11 1. William Vine, An Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words (London: Oliphants, 1953) 2:317.

I shut the demon down. I refused to let it interfere with the mans right to exercise his will to accept or reject Christ. While the man was not fullyaware of what was occurring in his life, he knew an alien personality had taken partial control of his mind and vocal cords. That frightened him somuch that he came to Christ with all of his heart. This demon and many others were expelled over a period of several months. The man had been intowitchcraft and was severely demonized.In contrast to his instantaneous salvation, his total deliverance was neither instantaneous nor automatic. Salvation is one thing. Sanctification,which can include deliverance from binding demonic powers, is something else. He was saved instantly. He was delivered progressively. Both can,and often do, occur at the same time, but not always.Returning to our experience as unbelievers, one miraculous day the darkness was removed by Gods sovereign saving mercy and His great lovewith which He loved us . . . He made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved) (Eph. 2:45).The scales fell from our eyes (Acts 9:18). We saw what we never understood before, the treasure which is Jesus Himself (2 Cor. 4:511). Weexclaimed with the blind man, Once I was blind but now I can see (John 9:25).While we have all had our spiritual ups and downs since that day God first opened our eyes, we have never been the same. We no longer live inthe darkness, but in the light of his presence. This is the universal testimony of all of us who love God in sincerity (And how we do love Him! Dontwe?) With this as a background we will look at one of Jesus most profound descriptions of the normal Christian life.I Have Come That They Might Have LifeLife is one of the characteristic words used by the apostle John. John uses life in two ways in his gospel. He uses it to refer to all life as weknow it in the universe (John 1:35). That life has its source in the Lord Jesus. John says apart from Him [Jesus, the Logos of God] nothing cameinto being that has come into being (1:3).More importantly, life represents eternal life. Leon Morris says that life in John characteristically refers to eternal life, the gift of God throughHis Son.2 Also most characteristic of John is the use of the word life with or without the definite article to refer to the life or the true life, thelife of the Lord Jesus shared with believers as by His Spirit He comes to abide in them (John 1417).To John, therefore, true human life is eternal life, a life uniquely given by God only to believers in Christ (John 1:4; 3:1516,36).3 John willinterchange life and the life for eternal life 15 times and everlasting life 8 times. Thus to John, true human life is meant to be eternaleverlasting life. This is particularly vivid in Revelation. There the word life is used almost exclusively for the tree of life (Rev. 2:7; 22:2,14); thecrown of life (Rev. 2:10); the Book of Life (Rev. 3:5; 13:8; 17:8; 20:12,15; 21:27; 22:19); and the water of life (Rev. 21:6; 22:1,17). Mansassociation with these sources of life brings him into union with Gods gift of eternal life (Rev. 1:1718; 2:7,10,11; 11:11; 21:6; 22:112,17).But eternal life refers not only to its everlasting duration but also to its quality as life possessed by the believer in the present. George EldonLadd in A Theology of the New Testament notes this distinctive emphasis of John.4Eternal life is the central theme of Jesus teaching according to John; but according to the synoptic Gospels [MatthewLuke], it is the proclamation of thekingdom of God. Furthermore, the primary emphasis in John is upon eternal life as a present experiencean emphasis that is quite lacking both in the SynopticGospels and in Judaism.

Ladd does not deny the future-oriented character of eternal life. He points out that when Jesus said, Whoever does not obey the Son shall not seelife (John 3:36), He was referring to humanitys ultimate destiny. This eschatological character of life is most vividly seen in John 12:25, He wholoves his life, loses it, and he who hates his life in the world will keep it for eternal life.522 2.33 3.44 4.55 5.

Ladd affirms that in the above and other statements quoting Jesus, John more clearly sets forth the antithetical structure of the two ages than thesayings in the synoptic Gospels where the similar thought occurs (Mark 8:35; Matt. 10:39; 16:25; Luke 9:24; 17:33). C. H. Dodd says that Johnalone has given such statements a form which obviously alludes to the Jewish antithesis of the two ages. John 4:14, 6:27, and 5:29 speak of life,eternal life and the resurrection of life all with the age to come in view and relate closely to Daniel 12:2: And many of those who sleep in thedust of the ground will awake, those to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt. As C. H. Dodd says, all of these sayingsrepresent life as an eschatological blessing, that is, a blessing given at the time of the fulfillment of all Gods promises.6 At the same time, it iseternal life as the present possession of the believer that is unique to John among the gospel writers.Finally, Ladd says, this life is not only mediated through Jesus and His Word, but it is resident in His very person (5:26). He is the living bread(6:51ff) and the living water (4:10,14). God is the ultimate source of life; but the Father has granted the Son to have life in Himself (5:26). ThereforeJesus could say, I am the life (11:25; 14:6).In John 10:10, Jesus is thus saying that believers may possess the life of the age to come in the present and in abundance. This is the NormalChristian Life.. . . And Might Have It AbundantlyOne of the advantages of this abundant life is that as troubled believers we can go back often to the Word, alone on our knees with God. There wecan read His promises out loud back to God. We can also read them out loud to ourselves. We need to hear them spoken by our own lips into our ownunbelieving ears. In time their living impact will set our soul on fire with the assurance of what we already are and have by simple faith in Christ. TheHoly Spirit of God who abides within will then fill our hearts with all joy in believing.We can also speak them aloud to the spirit world, to the demons of doubt, unbelief, hardness of heart, defeat, anger, self pity, depression, rejectionand shame who have constantly lied to our mind.7 They have been telling us that we are failures, that we are too sinful, too unbelieving, too hurt, toodisappointed and rejected by others and even by God due to past failures. That we are too stubborn, too rebellious, and too hard-hearted to ever beable to live the normal Christian life.As always, these demons are liars. They have been lying to us about who we are in Christ. All the promises of Jesus refer to each of us. Theywere spoken to us or for us (John 6:3358) to help us live abundantly.The abundant life assures us of who we are in Christ. It is a reality because Jesus, who is our life, abides within. When we understand who we arein Christ, and that He abides within us, we first affirm it to God in prayer. My close friend, Dr. Mark Bubeck, calls this Doctrinal Praying, 8 acompanion of what is often called Warfare Praying.Next we declare to ourselves who we are in Christ and the reality of the fullness of His indwelling presence. I have made my own affirmation offaith prayer which I carry in my daily calendar. I speak it both to God and to myself to keep my eyes off of my own sense of weakness, insufficiency,and worthlessness, on one hand, or foolish feelings of pride and self-sufficiency, on the other.Then we speak this word of our testimony to all the powers of evil assigned us. As we declare who we are in Christ, what He has and is doing forus, that He now abides in His fullness in us and we are thus made complete in Him (Col. 2:610; see 2 Pet. 1:24), we begin to become strong in66 6. Ladd, 257.77 7. We will deal later with the biblical basis for such demons and contrast them with emotional states.88 8. Dr. Mark Bubeck is a pioneer in combining spiritual warfare revival and prayer ministry in the United States. His three booksare musts for balanced, biblical and relevant teaching in these three areas. For examples of Doctrinal Praying, some mixed withWarfare Praying, see Bubecks three important books, The Adversary (Chicago: Moody, 1975), 93f; Overcoming the Adversary(Chicago: Moody, 1984), 2627, 4243, 63, 7172, 81, 9091, 101102, 110111, 120, 136137; The Satanic Revival (SanBernardino, Calif.: Heres Life Publishers, Inc., 1991), 110113, 130133, 145147, 160163, 181184, 205207, 220223.

the Lord and the power of His might (Eph. 6:10). We are then able to affirm with authority, Since God is for me, who is against me? Ioverwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved me.One Key to the Abundant LifeHow do we enter into this abundant life? How is the abundant life to be lived out in daily experience? While these are simple questions, theanswers are evidently not simple, though one would think they should be. After all, if this is the life Jesus came to give us (and it is) and if He is thatlife (and He is), where is the difficulty?The difficulty is at least twofold. One, the difficulty lies within each of us, even as it lay within the disciples. We, like they before us, still lugaround with us this thing called the flesh, as we have just examined in past chapters. The flesh-life (the self-life) and the Christ-life are continually atwar with each other. Thus any attempt to live the abundant life in this world means spiritual warfare.Two, we all tend to latch onto one dimension of the abundant life revealed in Scripture, give it a catch word name, and declare that this is thekey to living the abundant life. Years ago the late Dr. V. Raymond Edman, then President of Wheaton College, wrote a fascinating book called TheyFound the Secret.9 It is a series of short biographies of some of the most godly men and women through the centuries who lived the abundant life in avivid manner. He points out that all described that life in their own way. Some examples are the victorious life, the abundant life, the exchanged life,the Spirit-filled life, the surrendered life, the obedient life, the abiding life, the fruitful life, the peaceful life, the resting life, etc.Edman points out these are all different descriptions of the same reality. That reality is this: the normal Christian life is the life of the Lord Jesuslived within the life of the believer. He is our abundant life.Jesus implies this in John 10. He says that He is the door into the abundant life (vv. 79); His sheep belong to Him. He calls them my own (vv.14,16). He says His sheep know Him just as He knows the Father (vv. 1415,2730). He is one with the Father. His sheep are one (but on a differentlevel since they are created beings) with Him.He gives His sheep eternal life (vv. 2729). This is quality, not duration. It is Gods life which Jesus has with the Father and shares with Hissheep (John 5:26; 10:2829). Finally Jesus says continually in John that this life results from His indwelling presence through His indwelling HolySpirit (John 4:1314; 6:4158; 7:3739; 11:2526; 14:118,2527; 15:111; 17:123;).We all would agree, I believe, with what has been said. The question is, How do we enter into that life?This is probably one of the most difficult and controversial questions which has confronted believers for the entire 2,000 years of the Christianera. I certainly do not expect to answer it to the satisfaction of all my readers. There are hundreds of books available which attempt to answer thisquestion. In my own personal library one entire section is devoted to this issue. It contains over 100 books. All are excellent. All contain part of theanswer. None are the answer, however.Some stress crisis. You enter into this abundant life by a crisis subsequent to salvation. Some stress process. You live that life progressivelygrowing up into Christ. Others emphasis both crisis and process.Lets see if I can bring us all together by finding the common grounds we all have in Christ. First, it is crisis. It begins with the crisis of salvation.We are born again. Christ, by His Spirit, comes to live within us. It is because you really are His sons that God has sent the Spirit of His Son into ourhearts to cry Father, dear Father (Gal. 4:6, PHILLIPS).Next is process. Paul describes it this way, giving his personal testimony to the secret of his abundant life: And my present life is not that of theold I but the living Christ within me (Gal. 2:20a, PHILLIPS).

99 9. Dr. V. Raymond Edman, They Found the Secret (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, n.d.). See also his The Disciplines of Life(Minneapolis, Minn.: World Wide Publications, 1948).

This leads to a process of crisis. The apostle puts it this way: Oh, my dear children, I feel the pangs of child birth all over again until Christ beformed within you (Gal. 4:19, PHILLIPS). It is Christ being born within us (Gal. 4:6). It is Christ living His life within us (Gal. 2:20). The goal is thatChrist be completely and permanently formed and molded within us, as Bishop Lightfoot paraphrased Galatians 4:19 so long ago.10This perspective is biblical enough and broad enough to fit all the particular emphases on the way to the abundant life given by all believers of allages. The abundant life leads to the conquering life, the subject of the rest of this chapter and the next two.THE CONQUERING LIFEIf I had only John 3 and Romans 8 of the Bible in my possession, I would have almost everything I need to begin and to live the Christian life.While this may oversimplify, it does reveal the importance of these two chapters. Romans 8 is one of the most majestic chapters in the entire Bible.Romans 15It is crucial to see the relationship between Romans 8 and the earlier chapters of the book.11 Paul begins Romans with the proof of his apostleshipin Romans 1:115. As he was not known by sight at the church of Rome and was not one of the twelve apostles, this was important. Next heintroduces his subject, the gospel and the necessary faith response to its message in 1:16.He follows with a vivid picture of the desperate need for this Gospel both among the Gentiles (1:1832) and the Jews (2:13:8). He concludesthat allboth Jew and Gentileare totally lost in sin and separated from God (3:918). Even the Jews, who thought that by possessing the law theyhad escaped the sin and judgment resting upon the Gentiles, find themselves without excuse (3:1920).All of this lays the foundation for detailed teachings on the major theme of the first part of the book, justification by faith apart from the deeds ofthe law for the Jew and for all humanity (3:215:21). Thus the first five chapters focus almost exclusively on salvation through faith in Christ.Romans 6Chapter 6 opens a new theme in the epistle, that of sanctification; that is, the effects of salvation in the life of the believer while living in thishostile, sinful world. Most of us were probably raised on the concept of the believers two natures. Thus, when we were regenerated, in one sense, wewere not absolutely regenerated, not given a totally new life in Christ. We were taught that our sinful nature was left intact. A new nature wasimplanted in our body which co-existed with the old nature. Thus we were half regenerate and half degenerate. One moment the old nature, the oldself, was in charge. The next it was the new nature, the new self in Christ.12But the apostle Paul says differently in Romans 6. He writes, We died to sin by our baptism into Jesus death. We were buried with Him throughbaptism in death that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life (Rom. 6:24).Might here does not imply doubt. It begins a purpose clause. We died to sin with Christ, the apostle says. We were raised with him with thispurpose, to enable us to live a totally new life.He then follows with another purpose clause: This occurred in order that our (Paul includes himself with the rest of us) body of sin will be doneaway with, in order that we no longer should be enslaved to sin, as in the past. We are dead to the old sinful nature. Thus we are freed from sin (vv.7,18,22a) and enslaved to God (v. 22b).Now, Paul continues, to paraphrase his words, since we have died with Christ, in that our sin nature died with Him, we believe that we arealive with Him. Look at what with Him means, the apostle continues. Death, which is the result of sin (v. 23) no longer has any more power overHim (Christ) because He died to sin, once for all. He was then raised from the dead (v. 9). The life He now lives is lived to God.1010 10. J. B. Lightfoot, Saint Pauls Epistle to the Galatians (New York: MacMillan, 1902), 180.1111 11. John Calvin, Romans (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker, 1989), Vol. xix, xxxiii.1212 12. David C. Needham, Birthright (Portland, Ore.: Multnomah, 1982) 6986, 239258. See his discussion with ananonymous second person about the believers so-called two natures. It not only makes for interesting reading,but it is a powerful discourse on who we are in Christ. We are not two persons; nor are we a split personality. Weare one, new person in Christ.

By our identifying with Him through faith, we enter a union with Him in which His death to sin is our death also, to continue the paraphrase.We too now live to God. It has already happened. Declare it to be so. Work it out in practice by presenting yourself and the members of your body toGod as instruments of righteousness, just as you formerly presented yourself and the members of your body as instruments of unrighteousness.Does this mean we enter into a state of sinless perfection? Are we totally incapable of sinning any longer? No, the apostle says. We know thatis not true. Our experience reveals this to be false. We still live in this mortal body (vv. 1213) which is made up of members of my body which inturn are slaves to sin (v. 13). In fact, I find sin warring within my mortal body.13Romans 7Again we face the spiritual warfare motif of Scripture, in this case warfare with the flesh. This is most vivid in Pauls words in Romans 7:1425:For we know that the Law is spiritual; but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin. For that which I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what Iwould like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. But if I do the very thing I do not wish to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that it is good. So now, nolonger am I the one doing it, but sin which indwells me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the wishing is present in me, but thedoing of the good is not. For the good that I wish, I do not do; but I practice the very evil that I do not wish. But if I am doing the very thing I do not wish, I amno longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wishes to do good. For I joyfully concurwith the law of God in the inner man, but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind, and making me a prisoner ofthe law of sin which is in the members. Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ ourLord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin. (Rom. 7:1425)

What an incredible passage of Scripture! With what other passage can we compare it? Even the most godly of saints, in moments of deep internalwarfare with sin, have wept in Gods presence, knowing this autobiographical passage written by Paul was their autobiography also.Dr. Mark Bubeck tells an interesting story that involved this passage.14 It took place in a neighborhood Bible study. A highly educatedprofessional man was asked to read out loud this passage from Romans 7:1425. Dr. Bubeck writes: At this point, his wife, who was in another partof the room, asked the lady next to her if her husband was making a confession. She recognized these words as so aptly describing her husbandsstruggles.Bubeck continues:The one doing this reading told me later that he just couldnt believe these words were in the Bible. He was sure that those leading the Bible study had deliberatelychosen the passage for him to read. Being aggressive and vocal, he told them so, and they all had a good laugh over the incident.

Bubeck then remarks, How relevant the Word of God is! How pointedly it speaks to us about the experiences we are having!Two Uses of FleshI believe it is important to note that Paul uses the word the flesh in two different ways in Romans 7.15One, he says, While we were in the flesh (v. 5). Here the flesh refers to something which has already passed away. It would probably be equalto the old nature, the old self, the body of sin, which was crucified with Christ (cf. 6:6).Two, he says once, I am of the flesh and twice my flesh (vv. 14,18,25). This is something which has not passed away but must be dealt withdaily by the believer through the Spirit, the theme of 8:117 and of other passages of Scripture like Galatians 5:1321.1313 13. For in-depth study of the words referring to the dark side of mans immaterial nature, see Needham. Also see his superbdiscussion of our union with Christ and the Holy Spirits presence in our life, 119206. His parable of the lustful television programis especially interesting, 7780.1414 14. Mark Bubeck, Overcoming the Adversary, 2526.1515 15. In 6:19 he speaks of the weakness of your flesh. This would refer to their humanity. Their very humanness made itdifficult to understand deep spiritual truth. I believe this is similar to his use of the flesh in 2 Corinthians 10:34. He uses it notprecisely in a moral sense (though that may also be implied), but as an expression of human weakness itself.

In most of Romans 7 the apostle contrasts the law of the mind with the law of sin which was at work in his flesh. I have tried to show thecontrasts on the following chart.The Law of My Mind vs. The Law of SinFigure 9.1The Law of My Mind vs. The Law of Sin1. We know that the law is spiritual,1. I am of the flesh, Rom 7: 14b.Rom 7: 14a.2. I would like to do different than what 2. I am sold into bondage to sin, Rom 7: 14c.I am doing, Rom 7: 15a.3. What I do, I hate, Rom 7: 15d.3. I am doing (what) I do not understand, Rom 7: 15a.4. I do not wish to do what I am doing, 4. I am not practicing what I would like to do, Rom 7: 15b.Rom 7: 16a.5. I agree with the law, confessing that 5. I am doing the very thing I hate, Rom 7: 15c; I am doing the very thing I do notit is good, Rom 7: 16b.wish to do, Rom 7: 16a.6. I am not doing what I am doing, Rom 6. The sin which indwells me is doing these evil things, Rom 7: 17.7: 17a.7. The wishing (to do good) is present 7. The doing of the good is not (in me), Rom 7: 18b.in me, Rom 7: 18b.8. I wish to do good, Rom 7: 19a.8. I do not do the good I wish, Rom 7: 19a; I am doing the very thing I do notwish, Rom 7: 20a.9. I am not doing what I am doing, Rom 9. Sin which dwells in me is doing what I do not wish, Rom 7: 20b.7: 20b.10. I am one who wishes to do good, 10. Evil is present in me, Rom 7: 21.Rom 7: 21.11. I joyfully concur with the law of God 11. There is a law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of myin the inner man, Rom 7: 22.mind, Rom 7: 23a.12. The law of my mind (the opposite 12. That different law makes me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in myof the law of sin), Rom 7: 23.members, Rom 7: 23b; I am a wretched man, Rom 7: 24a; I am a prisoner of thebody of this death, Rom 7: 24b.

13. With my mind (I) am serving the

law of God, Rom 7: 25.

13.

With my flesh, (I serve) the law of sin, Rom 7: 25b.

Before the apostle finishes revealing his own inner struggles to find victory in Christ over the warfare with the flesh (the theme of chapter 8), heanswers his own despairing cry for freedom from the body of this death. He declares that there is sure victory through Jesus Christ our Lord (v.25a).Romans 68 OverviewPauls thinking seems to progress through chapters 68. In chapter 6 he tells of our death to sin through our identification and union with Christ inHis death to sin. He also tells of our present spiritual resurrection to newness of life which comes through our identification and union with Christin His resurrection (6:113). Chapter 7 reveals the warfare which the true believer faces with the flesh while striving to live that resurrection life, acommon theme in the epistles of Paul. The child of God rejoices that the sin nature is dead with Christ. He has a totally new resurrection life, not twoopposing lives or natures. Therefore potentially he is able to consider himself dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus (v. 11).As he begins to do so, however, he finds that sin still dwells within him. It is joined to his flesh. The flesh, unlike his old self or his sin nature,was not crucified with Christ once and for all. It is at war with the law of God written in his mind. He longs to discover the way to live in victory overthe lusts of the flesh, the subject of at least the first 17 verses of chapter 8.This is the meaning of Pauls therefore in 8:1. It takes us naturally into his discussion of the way of victory over the law of sin and deathdescribed in chapter 8. I call it the ecstacy of the normal Christian life.

10Its EcstasyRomans 8The victory described in Romans 8 is lived in the context of spiritual warfare. I submit a natural threefold outline of Pauls teachings in Romans 8:one, the ecstasy of the normal Christian life, verses 117a; two, the agony of the normal Christian life, verses 17b27; three, the agony within theecstasy of the normal Christian life, verses 2839.1THE ECSTASYThe apostle Paul begins his study on the ecstasy of the normal Christian life with three of the most foundational truths about Christian livingfound anywhere in the New Testament. The first is the believers union with Christ Jesus. The second is the believers life in the Holy Spirit. Thethird is the interrelationship between the two, verses 14.2In Christ

11 1. John Calvin, Romans (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker, 1989), devotes 57 pages to Romans 8. For scholarly, profound relevantstudies of Romans 8:117, see John Murray, The Epistle to the Romans (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1977) and John Calvin,Calvins Commentaries (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker, 1989). E. H. Giffords Romans (Minneapolis, Minn.: The James Family, 2500James Avenue North, 1977), H. P. Liddons Romans (Minneapolis, Minn.: James and Klock Christian Publishing Co., 1977) andWilliam Barclays The Epistle to the Romans (Philadelphia: Westminster, 19581960) are also excellent.22 2. The second clause found in the KJV who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit does not have support in the oldest andlargest number of manuscripts. It belongs where it is repeated at the end of verse 4. Calvins editor admits this but says, It beingplaced here does not, however, interfere with the meaning (Calvin, 275).

The apostle first declares, There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. When I was a new believer, struggling tofind victory in my Christian life, I heard the late Dr. J. Vernon McGee, then pastor of the Church of the Open Door in Los Angeles, preach on thistext. The details of what he taught I have forgotten, but I have never forgotten the impact of that sermon on my life and one phrase he continuallyrepeated.The most important word in the New Testament for the believer is the preposition in, in Christ and in the Spirit, McGee affirmed. This truthcame to my parched heart like rain on arid ground. All I needed or would ever need to live the normal Christian life was already mine in theperson of the indwelling Christ and His indwelling Spirit. I began a personal study of every passage in the New Testament which speaks of myunion with Christ through His indwelling me in the person of the Holy Spirit (8:9).As I prayed over the Scriptures dealing with the indwelling Christ and Holy Spirit, my life began to be transformed. While that transformationcontinues and will continue until I am finally with Him, the personal experience of that dual truth became a true second blessing or a second workof grace in my life.Jesus is not only my Savior and Lord, He is my life. The Holy Spirit not only indwells me to seal me unto the day of redemption, but He also fillsme with the person of Gods Son. Through His gifts He empowers me for holy living and effective ministry. While many stress the one and ignore theother, the normal Christian life is both holy living and power in ministry. Both come from the indwelling Spirit of Gods dear Son (Gal. 4:6). 3This is why Paul insists that everything we need to overcome the evil within (the flesh), the evil without (the world), and the evil from above (evilsupernaturalism) is ours in union with our Lord (Eph. 1:32:10; 3:1421; Col. 1:133:4) throughpirit (Rom. 8:117a). He also insists, however, thatnothing is automatic or magical. If a believer does not know who he is in Christ and the Spirit and what Christ is to him as He indwells by His Spirit,that believer will be defeated most of his Christian life.4Our acceptance before God has nothing to do with our performance as Christians. It has nothing to do with the stage of victory over the flesh weare now in. It has only to do with being in Christ Jesus. All that needs to be done to bring us to God has already been done. No personal meritbrings us to God. No personal demerit can keep us from God. If we are in Christ, we are accepted in the beloved. For us there is no condemnation.John Murray writes:5To be reminded of union with Christ . . . is no less pertinent than to be assured of freedom from condemnation because the potency of sin and of the flesh evidentin the conflict of 7:1425 makes it all the more necessary to appreciate the victory which belongs to the believer in the bonds of Christ Jesus. It is a succinct way ofalluding to all the grace implied in the argument of the earlier passage.

Verse 2 and verse 1 are closely related. Again, both refer to our union with Christ. Murray says, not only bound together by the particle for, butalso by the repetition in verse two of in Christ Jesus. Verse two unfolds the implication of the union with Christ emphasized at the close of verseone.633 3. For excellent studies on these truths in the context of spiritual warfare see Mark Bubeck, Overcoming the Adversary(Chicago: Moody, 1984), 3663; Neil Anderson, Victory Over Darkness (Ventura, Calif.: Regal, 1990b), 3767; and The BondageBreaker (Eugene, Ore.: Harvest House, 1990a), 7591; Tim Warner, Spiritual Warfare (Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway, 1991), 6067.While George E. Ladds study in his A Theology of the New Testament (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1983) is not necessarilyfrom a spiritual warfare perspective, his presentation of the Christian life is superb (479494, 511530).44 4. Dr. Neil Andersons treatment of the subject of who the believer is in union with the Christ who indwells us by His Spirit andhow to appropriate the victory this brings to our Christian life is outstanding (Anderson, 1990b, 967). George Ladds treatment ofthis subject is very profound, though theological and somewhat awesome. He sees in Christ and in the Spirit in relationship tothis age and our present experience of the age to come. It is thorough, exciting, even if to some, controversial reading (479494).55 5. Murray, 275.66 6. Murray, 276.

Dunn, writing in the Word Biblical Commentary on Romans, says:7

It is the in Christ which makes the difference. To have identified oneself with Christ while still belonging to this age was bound to precipitate or increaseexistential tension, but that being in Christ is what gives the assurance that the end result will be acquittal. The in Christ will triumph over the in Adam, thetension of living between the two is temporary, the sobering realism of 7:1425 is matched by the reaffirmed assurance of 8:1.

Two LawsPaul next speaks of two laws in verse 2. First there is the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus. Second, there is the law of sin and death.What laws are these?The Spirit of life is clearly the Holy Spirit, not just an influence. The Holy Spirit is the dominant person of the Trinity mentioned in verses 416and again in verses 23 and 2627. He is called the Spirit who is life in verse 10. Murray says this is consistent with both Pauline and NewTestament usage. . . . The law of the spirit of life would thus be the power of life operative in the Spirit. It is a commanding and authoritative power,because law has not only a regulating and activating power behind it but also a legislative authority behind it.8In 7:2223 Paul mentions two opposing laws, the law of sin and the law of my mind. The law of sin operates in the flesh. The law of themind, in the case of the believer, is also useless in itself to help the struggling Christian if it were not energized by the law of the Spirit of life inChrist Jesus. Thus the power of sin is no match for the power of the Spirit. The believer who walks in the spirit (8:4f) is set free from the law of sinand of death, the law of sin which leads to death operating in his flesh.It is important to see, therefore, that the no condemnation of verse 1 is not deliverance from sins guilt and penalty, but from sins power. Paulhas already dealt with the former in the early chapters of Romans. Since Romans 6 he has been dealing with the believers deliverance from sinspower, that is, from the law of sin and of death.This view is further supported by verse 3, indeed, by all the rest of this first part of Romans 8. In verse 3 Paul speaks of the Old Testament law. Itcould never free us from sins power because of the weakness of the flesh, the flesh here being human nature. God did this for us by sending His Sonin the likeness of sinful fleshhuman nature which is weak and unable to do the will of Godand, as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in theflesh.Murray repeats again that the governing thought of this passage is concerned with deliverance from the law of sin and death, and therefore, fromsin as a ruling and regulating power.9 Murrays discussion of this act of God in Christ by which He made sin forfeit its dominion over thebelievers is a spiritual warfare interpretation to the passage.10Since then judicial language is applied to the destruction of the power of the world and of the prince of darkness and since the term condemnation is used hererespecting the work of Christ, there is warrant for the conclusion that the condemning of sin in the flesh refers to the judicial judgment which was executed uponthe power of sin in the cross of Christ. God executed this judgment and overthrew the power of sin; he not only declared sin to be what it was but pronounced andexecuted judgment upon it.

John Calvin takes a similar position. He says that the burden of sin being laid on Christ, it was cast down from its power so that it does not holdus now subject to itself so the kingdom of sin in which it held us was demolished.11Calvins editor writes that because of the phraseology used we should conclude that the power of sin and not its guilt is the subject treated of.1277 7. James D. G. Dunn, Romans 18, WBC (Waco, Texas: Word, 1988a), 435.88 8. Murray, 276. See also Romans 8:6,10,11; John 6:63; 1 Corinthians 15:45; especially 2 Corinthians 3:6,17,18; Galatians 6:8.99 9. Murray, 277.1010 10. Murray, 278.1111 11. Calvin, 282.1212 12. Calvins editor, 282.

Law here is used of a ruling power, for that which exercised authority and secures obedience, the law of sin, is the ruling power of sin; the law of the Spirit oflife, is the power of the Spirit the author of life: the law of death is the power which death exercises. Then walking after the flesh is to live in subjection to theflesh as walking after the Spirit is to live in subjection to Him. All these things have reference to the power and not to the guilt of sin. The same subject iscontinued from chapter 8:5 to the 15th verse.

The Battle: Sin Energized by Flesh vs. the Spirit

Thus we see that the battle in Romans 78:15 is warfare with the power of sin energized by the flesh of the believer. Pauls answer to the sin warwe face with the flesh is the answer he also gives in Galatians, But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh (Gal.5:16).In 8:4 the apostle says that the believer does not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. He says in us those who are accordingto the flesh [the unredeemed] set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit [the redeemed], the things of theSpirit. For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace.Next he describes the condition of the unregenerate. Since their mind is set on the flesh, they live in hostility to God. They do not nor cannotsubject their fleshly minds to the law of God. Thus they are not nor cannot be pleasing to God (vv. 78).Finally, he returns to believers who are not in the flesh but in the Spirit. They are at war with the flesh and the flesh with them. They do not winevery battle. If they did, they would never sin nor come short of any dimension of Gods plan for their life. Still, they are not in the flesh, but in theSpirit. The proof? The Spirit of God dwells within them. If the Spirit of God does not dwell within them they are not regenerate (v. 9).13In verse 10 Paul says, And if Christ is in you. . . . What he had declared to be true of the Spirit, he now declares of the Son. This is because theSpirit is the Spirit of Christ (v. 9). Thus Paul says, If Christ is in you (v. 10), and then if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwellsin you (v. 11). This is perfect unity between the Son of God and the Spirit in our life.In verse 10, Paul, who has been affirming that the Spirit of Christ who indwells our being brings life and victory over the power of sin operatingagainst us through the flesh, affirms that there is a part of our being where this life-giving power of the Spirit is not yet fully operative. That part ofour being is our mortal body. Even though our body is Gods temple and though Christ by His Spirit dwells within our body, Paul says the body isdead because of sin. This is not meant to discourage us. He then states that the spirit is alive because of righteousness. By saying this, Paul is notdeclaring a negative dualism of body and spirit. Both exist together in this world, and both will be joined together in the world to come at theResurrection (1 Cor. 15:3537; Phil. 3:2021).Thus the redemption provided for the whole person is experienced in two phases. By faith our spirit is born again and receives eternal life throughthe indwelling Spirit of Christ, but the body does not (Rom. 8:10). This is phase one. Phase two occurs only at the revealing of the sons of God, atthe moment of our full adoption as sons (vv. 19,23). Only then will the full redemptive benefits of the Cross be experienced by these sinful, mortalbodies; only then will we experience the redemption of our body (v. 23).141313 13. Verse 9 represents one of the key verses about the indwelling of the Spirit of God in all of Scripture. He indwells everytrue believer, regardless of his immaturity in the faith. Existence in the Spirit is life. Without the Spirit is death. Judes graphicoutline of the condition of professing Christians who are not regenerate concludes with these words, These are the ones whocause divisions, worldly minded, devoid of the Spirit (Jude 19). Romans 8:9 equates the Spirit, the Spirit of God, and theSpirit of Christ; thus my affirmation that Christ is now exalted at the right hand of God as head over all things pertaining to Hischurch (Eph. 1:2023). He indwells every believer and his body, however, only in the person of the Holy Spirit (John 14:1618 withGal. 4:6; Acts 16:67 with Rom. 8:9). This verse, as well as others like it, form some of the strongest arguments for the Holy Trinityin all of Scripture.1414 14. Thus any doctrine of physical healing which is based on the teaching that our bodies have already been redeemed, as istrue of our souls or spirits, is contrary to Scripture. One can practice and teach an effective biblical healing ministry, without

The apostle continues promising hope for this sinful body in verse 11. Verses 1217 are a summary and application of all he has been saying untilnow. We are again reminded to walk in the Spirit, which I take as synonymous as being led by the Spirit of God (v. 14).15As to Pauls blunt warning in verse 13a, for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die, Calvin rightly remarks, Let then the faithfullearn to embrace Him, not only for justification but also for sanctification, as He has been given to us for both these purposes lest they render Himasunder by their mutilated flesh.16The Holy Spirit vs. Spirits of Slavery and FearVerse 15 is one of the great verses of Scripture setting the Spirit of adoption, the Holy Spirit, over against the opposing spirit, the spirit ofslavery leading to fear. The Spirit of God, even when He is the Spirit of conviction of sin, is always the Spirit who lets us know we belong to Godand His kingdom, Paul is implying. He builds up. He encourages. He blesses. He enlightens. He makes Jesus more and more precious to us. Heempowers us to the defeat of the flesh, the world, and Satan and his demons. It is he and he alone who cries within us, Abba! Father!It is the other spirit who tells us lies.17 The writer of Hebrews says that the other spirit, Satan, is the one who binds us in fear (Heb. 2:15). We havebeen delivered from him, however, so we are not to fear him or his.I am not declaring dogmatically that the apostle specifically has a demon in mind, though Dunn says he probably does. I am saying that Satan andhis evil spirits are spirits of fear and bondage whether they build upon these pre-existing negative human emotions or initiate the attempted slaverythemselves. Whatever binds us in fear or brings us into bondage or slavery is that other spirit.The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of liberty, of adoption. He lets us know that we belong to God. He bears witness with our spirit that we are childrenof God (v. 16). The other spirits either whisper denials of our true sonship or say we are unacceptable to God, even though we may be His sons.Thus Jesus says the other spirit is a liar, the father of lies, whenever he speaks a lie he speaks from his own nature (John 8:44). When he speaks liesto us, we are to shut him up as Jesus did (Matt. 4:10; 16:23). We are to resist him with the words of truth (Eph. 6:17; James 4:78).Crisis and Process in Full Deliverance: James StoryI was counseling a troubled, out-of-town Christian by telephone. My schedule was so full a face-to-face counseling session was not possible. Yethe was hurting badly, and I felt compelled to try to minister to him by telephone.James was a new believer who had been a practicing warlock in a local witch coven. His wife was a witch in the same group. They had one child,a young boy named Tommy, about six years old. James came from a troubled family. He was a victim of physical and sexual child abuse by hisfather. He grew up with a deep sense of shame, powerlessness, worthlessness, and anger. Witchcraft gave him a sense of power over others, overcircumstances, and above all, over his own life.He had had some exposure to Christianity as a youth, and he had friends who were Christians. He had gone to church with them occasionally butdid not understand the Gospel. He was greatly impressed with the person of Christ but did not know how to appropriate Him for his own life.Into Witchcraftbuilding it upon an obvious distortion of Scripture.1515 15. See Murrays excellent exposition of these verses (292299). Also Calvin (293302); Dunn (446464); Gifford (151154);Denny in W. Robertson Nicoll is excellent (The Expositors Greek New Testament [Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans] 2:6476648).So with F. F. Bruce in the TNTC (Romans [Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1983], 164168).1616 16. Calvin, 294.1717 17. Dunn says, The usage may reflect the current way of expressing opposition between God and evil in terms of good andevil spirits, such as we find in the DSS . . . spirit of truth and spirit of falsehoodespecially IQ53, 18ff; spirit of fornication,jealousy, envy, error, etc. . . . Here Paul speaks of Israels condition under the law as equivalent to that of the Gentiles under theelemental spirits . . . Galatians 4:9 and 5:1 (449450). This is an important quote in light of the presence of evil spirits offornication, jealousy, error, etc., discovered in peoples lives in our day.

He met his wife while in high school. She introduced him to witchcraft. It seemed just right for him. After their marriage, he and his wife gavetheir lives to the spirit world. While there was fun in witchcraft, there were also things that disturbed his sensitive spirit. Everyone was on a powertrip. Each sought to gain control over others. The spirits, while helpful to a bruised person like James, were also evil. They promoted free sex amongthe group. He did not like seeing his wife involved sexually with members of the group, both men and women. He felt degraded when he participatedwith the group in such activities.Hate for others, particularly Christians, was a dominate feature of his coven. They were always putting curses on Christians and calling upon thespirits to harm them. Frankly, he liked a Christian co-worker who had begun to witness to him about the joy of the Christian life.The controlling spirit of the group reminded him of the Devil he had read about and was hearing about from his Christian friend. He wondered if,unknown to him, his wife, and the other members of his coven, Satan was not manipulating them behind the scenes. As one of the coven leaders, hedared not voice his concerns, however.A Christian Witness and a Desire to ChangeOne evening he, his wife, and child returned home from a particularly upsetting coven meeting characterized by expressions of deep hatredtowards Christians. The spirits were upset with the group for not working harder to earn witchcraft a place of acceptance as a good religion which,in contrast to Christianity, stressed the values of earthly happiness, peace, and brotherhood. At the same time he recognized that they were filled withhatred against anyone who opposed them.James voiced his concern to his wife. He also told her of his Christian co-worker and how kind, affirming, gentle, and moral he was. All his coworkers knew James friend was a Christian, not because he constantly preached at them or argued with them, but by his lifestyle. While he ate hisbag lunch with his fellow workers, he did not participate in their dirty talk or language. He occasionally reminded them when the swearing got toobad that they were misusing the name of his Lord, and he would firmly but gently ask them to stop. They would apologize, and their language andsubjects of conversation would actually moderate when they were in his presence. James was deeply impressed with his Christian friend.His wife was furious. Christians are our worst enemies, she replied. They say we worship Satan, which is a lie. They also say their God is thetrue God and Jesus the only Savior. This is also a lie. There are many gods. Our religion is the answer to the needs of humanity. We dont live forsome future heaven. We enjoy life now. When we die, we become one with the spirits so we have the best of both worlds. How can you even thinkfor a moment that your Christian friend may be right?The Break for FreedomOne Sunday while his wife was away, James went to church with his friend. He loved the singing, the prayers, and the sermon from the Bible.Most of all he was drawn to the person of Jesus. He cried when he began to understand that God loved him so much that He would send His own Sonto die for his sins.No matter what he had been taught and was teaching others, he knew sin was real. All the sex, hatred, pride, ambition, and disrespect for onesfellow man that his group was promoting was sin; he knew that. He wanted to get out. The pressure to continue promoting evil in the name of lovewas too much. He wanted to do good to all men. He wanted to be free.Day after day at lunch break he talked with his Christian friend. One day he bowed his head, prayed, and received Jesus as his Savior. He couldno longer continue calling evil good and the goodness of Christ and God, evil.Ultimatum at HomeWhen he told his wife she was beside herself in rage. You always have been a weak person, she said. I dont know why I ever married you.Unless you return to the coven Im leaving you and taking Tommy with me. They talked for hours. Rather, he tried to talk, but she railed at him,heaping insult upon insult. The next day when he returned from work she was gone. Just as she had threatened, she had taken Tommy with her.

She left no phone number where he could reach her. James called one of the leaders of the coven to see if he knew of her whereabouts. He did,but he would not tell James where she was. You have become a Christian, the man said. You are a traitor. You have joined our enemies. Unlessyou renounce Christianity and return to the coven you will never see your wife and child again. With that he hung up.Continued Attack, Progressive DeliveranceIt was then that James began to come under demonic attack. The spirits would bombard his mind with threats and insults. They would not let himsleep at night. They confused his mind so badly he had difficulty doing his work. He was desperate. His Christian friend took him to one of theleaders of his church who was gifted at expelling evil spirits. He supposedly had special gifts of discernment which would help him identify thespirits operating in James life. Many demons were cast out. At first James was greatly relieved. In time, however, the demons either came back orothers came to torment him. They were spirits of slavery to fear (Rom. 8:15). He was terrified. They threatened to kill him, and he feared theywould.At this point, James called me to help him get rid of his fears and bondage to the accusing spirits. Instead, I went through the Scriptures with himto help him understand who he was in Christ. I wanted him to recognize that Satan was already defeated by the Son of God in his behalf. I told himthat though the Devil might not immediately and totally back off, he would eventually have to cease his accusations and fear tactics. He always does.He has no choice in the matter (James 4:78).I call this pre-deliverance counseling. It would have been ineffective just to try to cast demons out of a life so severely demonized with powerfuldemons of witchcraft, fear, and bondage. Because he had been into witchcraft for years, including several years as a warlock, his deliverance was notinstant, but progressive.Full DeliveranceOn more than one occasion the demons came into manifestation while we were talking by phone. I would bring them into subjection and continuewith the scriptural counseling. James faithfully studied Dr. Mark Bubecks book, The Adversary. He began to do Doctrinal and Warfare Praying.He purchased and carefully followed my 16 audio-cassette tape series with accompanying study syllabus called Spiritual Warfare.18 Eventually hebegan to sense the demons releasing their hold on his life and in his mind. While it took several months, the final self-deliverance occurred all at onceone night while James was alone in bed. He suddenly became aware of the exodus of the last of the bondage spirits. They screamed their protest inhis mind, This is not fair. You belonged to us, but we have to go. Jesus is saying we must leave you right now. This is not fair. This is not fair.With that they left.As James drew near to the Lord in worship, prayer, and thanksgiving, the Lord drew near to him (James 4:78). Never had he experienced such asense of the Lords presence. He was finally free. He now understood Pauls words, For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fearagain, but you have received a spirit [the Holy Spirit] of adoption as sons by which we cry out, Abba! Father! (Rom. 8:15; Gal. 4:6). James nowknew for sure that he was both a child of God, an heir of God, and joint heir with Christ (v. 17). He knew that his sufferings were sufferings withChrist. All were meant for his good. He also knew that some day he would be glorified with Him (vv. 1617).This is an overview of Pauls teachings on the ecstasy of the normal Christian life. While some agony is involved, the focus is on ecstasy, thefreedom from the law of sin and death through the indwelling Christ and His Holy Spirit. Our next chapter deals with Pauls overview of the agoniesof the normal Christian life.

Its AgonyRomans 8Pauls treatment in Romans 8 of the agony of the normal Christian life begins with the statement in verse 17 that the Christian life is a life ofsuffering with Christ and continues through verse 27. The contrast between this portion of Romans 8 and the prior portion (vv. 117a) is remarkable.That is why I call verses 117a the Ecstasy of the Normal Christian Life and this second portion the Agony of the Normal Christian Life.If the apostle had halted his treatment of the normal Christian life with the ecstasy presentation, he would have been less than realistic, even interms of his own Christian life. When he reaches the point of the greatest of all ecstasies of the Christian life, that of our real status as heirs of Godand joint heirs with Christ, he begins treating the agony of suffering (v. 17b).Suffering With GloryThe apostle, always one to encourage, makes one of the most comforting statements in all of the Bible regarding our suffering with Christ. I likethe NEB translation, For I reckon that the sufferings we now endure bear no comparison with the splendor that is as yet unrevealed, which is in storefor us.John Murray notes thatthis verse is an appeal to the great disproportion between the sufferings endured in this life and the weight of glory reserved for the children of Godthe presentsufferings fade into insignificance when compared with the glory to be revealed in the future. The apostle appeals to this consideration an inducement to patientendurance of sufferings.1

In 8:1827 Paul mentions three groanings: the groaning universe or the natural creation (vv. 1822); the groaning church (vv. 2325); and thegroaning Holy Spirit (vv. 2627).2The apostle here personifies the physical creation, comparing it to a woman in the pangs of childbirth (v. 22). The universe is anxiously longingfor the revealing of the sons of God (v. 19). As it was made to participate in the negative effects of humanitys fall, not by its own will but by thewill of God (v. 20), it will also participate in the positive effects of redeemed humanitys entrance into the freedom of the glory of the children ofGod (v. 21). The church (that is, the children of God) and the creation groan together, waiting eagerly for the same thingsour adoption as sons(vv. 2223a).This adoption is totally different than that already experienced by the children of God (Gal. 4:5; Eph. 1:45), though not unrelated. The adoptionalready entered into is spiritual: It does not include as yet the physical body (v. 15).3 The adoption for which we still wait is the redemption of ourbody (v. 23b). This will only occur at the last trumpet for both those dead in Christ and for those who are alive at His coming (1 Cor. 15:5057; 2Thess. 4:1318).The Spirit IntercedesWhile we and creation groan, waiting for the day when our bodies will be redeemed (v. 23), and we will be revealed for what we already arethe sons of God (v. 19), another groaning is occurring: the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words (v. 26).

11 1. John Murray, The Epistle to the Romans, NICNT (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1977), 300301.22 2. See 1 Peter 1:39,13; 4:1213,19.33 3. Again I must point out the error of much modern application of a healing in the atonement theology. Healing is in theAtonement exactly as the new heavens and the new earth are in the Atonement. But we have not experienced those dimensionsof the Atonement as yet. The latter (the healing of the physical creation) and the former (the total healing of our bodies) willoccur in the future and at the same time.

There is no end to suggested interpretations of this verse. Many have much to commend them. In my opinion, however, the one that is mostobjectionable is the one which declares that the Spirits intercession for us with groanings too deep for words refers to praying in tongues. If thiswere so we would have to affirm that Jesus never prayed in the Holy Spirit, for He is never recorded as speaking or praying in tongues. This wouldalso mean that when one prays with the mind (1 Cor. 14:1419), that is, with the full use of his faculties, which is characteristic of all prayersrecorded in Scripture, he is not praying in the Holy Spirit. If not, then he is praying in the flesh. Such a conclusion would be totally repugnant to mostChristians.Also, this would mean that Christians who do not have what is commonly called a prayer language do not have this benefit of the Spiritinterceding for them with groanings too deep for words. That means most of the Christians who have ever lived were deprived of what Paul hereascribes as a ministry of the Spirit in behalf of all believers, for most did not have a prayer language.4John Calvin says the correct interpretation has to fit the context:5[Paul] brings before them the aid of the Spirit, which is abundantly sufficient to overcome all difficulties. There is then no reason for anyone to complain, that thebearing of the cross is beyond their own strength, since we are sustained by a celestial power. And there is great force in the Greek word (used here) which meansthat the Spirit takes on Himself a part of the burden . . . so that He not only helps and succours us, but lifts us up as though He went under the burden with us.

Weaknesses and Sufferings

His editor remarks that the word for weakness is taken metaphorically from assistance afforded to infants not able to support themselves, or tothe sick, tottering and hardly able to walk. A beautiful picture indeed! Weakness (v. 26) is plural, indicating the great variety of burdens andsufferings (agonies) we feel. Calvin comments:6For as experience shows, that except we are supported by Gods hands, we are soon overwhelmed by innumerable evils. Paul reminds us, that . . . there is yetsufficient protection in Gods Spirit to preserve us from falling and to keep us from being overwhelmed by any mass of evils.

These weaknesses and suffering are not meant to break us down, but to cause us to look upwards. They make deep, heartfelt prayer as necessaryas our daily bread. They tend to have a twofold possible effect upon the elect, however. Response to them can make some burdened hearts becomeharder, bitter, and complaining. In others, they bring us to God in heartfelt prayer.We are often baffled about how or what we should pray. All we can do is come into His presence on our faces, weeping and confused. Wordstotally fail us. They seem completely limited in expressing our crushed spirit or troubled heart. No matter, the apostle says, the Spirit intercedes forus with groanings too deep for [our] words.His intercession, we must be assured, always reaches the Fathers heart. God is always searching the hearts to understand our cries. At the sametime, He knows the mind of the Spirit because what He intercedes for us is always according to the will of God (v. 27).Later in this epistle Paul tells us that Jesus is at the right hand of God interceding for us (v. 34). Here Paul shows us the indwelling Spiritinterceding for us from deep within us. How then can our prayer ever fail or our true needs ever go without being met? Before His throne and withinour hearts God is interceding to God in our behalf. What an amazing life is this Christian life! In the midst of our agonies we must alwayscontemplate the ecstasies.THE AGONY WITHIN THE ECSTASYThe two words agony and ecstasy well describe the dramatic line of teaching found in these Romans 8:2839. Almost every facet of Godsredemption in Christ and the spiritual warfare we face in living out that redemption is found here.44 4. One does not need to resort to this kind of misuse of the Scriptures to defend his practice of speaking or praying in tongues.If the practice is biblical, it can easily be defended from other passages of Scripture.55 5. John Calvin, Calvins Commentaries (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker, 1989), 311.66 6. Calvin, 311312.

Paul first begins with Gods eternal sovereign purpose to glorify all his elect (vv. 2830). What do we know? We know that God causes allthings to work together for good . . . (v. 28a).For whom is this true? To those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose (v. 28b).How do we know what we know?1. God has foreknown us. The subject of Gods foreknowledge is a subject of endless controversy. Does it simply mean God knows beforehandwhat will happen, that is, is it the same as Gods omniscience; or does it mean God has ordained beforehand what will come to pass?7I believe, in spite of the intellectual problems involved, the weight of evidence comes down strongly upon the latter view. As John Murray says,to know beforehand is to know with peculiar regard and love from before the foundation of the world (cf. Eph. 1:4) and foreknew (Rom. 8:29)can have the persons as direct object with no further qualification.2. God has predestined [us] to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the first-born among many brethren. It is to conformityto the image of His Son that He has predestined us, not just to escape hell and gain heaven. Jesus, while always in a different and higher categorythan his brethren, is to be the leader of many Jesuses, men and women who bear His image.3. Those He predestined, these He also called. That is what it means to be the elect of God. God called us to His Son and to Himself, or wecould not have come to Him at all (John 6:3740,44,6465).4. Whom He called, these He also justified. God has fully imputed His righteousness to His elect.5. These whom He justified, these He also glorified (v. 30). Calvin comments that Paul speaks to us as believers, all of whom are now presseddown by the cross so that we may know that His Cross also leads to our glorification. We do not have that glorification yet. Only He does. Yet,Calvin says, His glory brings to us such assurance respecting our own glory that our hope may be justly compared to a present possession. 8Calvin then comments that Paul uses the past tense for all of these blessings. His editor comments, Paul speaks of these things as past, becausethey are as already done in Gods decree, and in order to show the certainty of their accomplishment.Certainty of Our CallingNext Paul emphasizes the certainty of our calling by God (from foreknowing us to our glorification) with a series of seven rhetorical questions,all of which begin with the words what? who? how? and shall? (vv. 3139).What then shall we say to these things? In other words, since we have been foreknown, predestined, called, justified, and glorified, what morecan God do for us to assure us that He is directing all the good, and also the evil, which comes to our life for our good and His purpose (vv. 2832a)?Who is against us since God is for us? (v. 31b) Are there people who are against us? In such circumstances, how unimportant they are sinceGod is for us! Is evil supernaturalism totally against us? Of course it is, but what can Satan and his evil spirits really do against us? They can hassle,afflict, threaten, scare, bruise, but they cannot really hurt us. God uses them eventually to help us.We all become weary in the battle and often complain, I am tired of the pressure Satan continually brings against me. When that happens, wecan counter his attack by turning against Satan and his demons and declaring our acceptance by God (v. 31b) in the beloved (Eph. 1:38); their defeatby the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords (John 12:3132); our authority in Christs power over them (Luke 10:1719); and their destiny in hell,the eternal lake of fire (Matt. 25:41; Rev. 20:10). I believe that is the meaning of resisting the Devil until he flees (James 4:78).When we resist in such a manner we are fulfilling Ephesians 3:10 and Revelation 12:11. There Paul and John affirm:That the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places. (Eph. 3:10)And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even to death. (Rev. 12:11)77 7. John Murrays article Foreknow, Foreknowledge in Merrill C. Tenney, ed., ZPEB (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 1977)2:590593, is without doubt one of the best summaries of these two divergent views in print today.88 8. Calvin, 320.

1.

How would He fail to give us all things that we need to live the normal Christian life? Look at what He has done for us! He did not spare Hisown Son on our behalf. He delivered Him up for us all (v. 32). How could He fail to give us all else that we need to live the life He commands us tolive?Who will bring a charge against Gods elect? That charge can come from only three possible sources: from others, from ourselves, and fromSatan. Satan is the main one to charge or accuse us (Zech. 3:13; Rev. 12:10). He not only does so before God but before our own damaged emotionsand conscience, and he uses others to accuse us as well. Paul answers, God is the one who justifies. He has already justified all of His own (vv. 2930). So all other condemnation is pure rubbish. It holds no merit before God and should hold no merit before us.Who is the one who condemns? Paul gives a fourfold answer which removes all ground for Satans or anyone elses condemning Gods own:Christ Jesus is He who died for Gods own. Calvin says, As no one by accusing can prevail when the judge absolves, so there remains nocondemnation when satisfaction is given . . . and the penalty is paid.Yes, rather who was raised. Pauls argument here is that Jesus sacrifice of His life to justify His elect was all that Gods law demanded. He raisedHim from the dead as the conqueror of death, and triumphed over all its power.9Who is at the right hand of God. Christ at the place of glory, power, and dominionthat is, at the right hand of Godis one of Pauls joyfulthemes (Eph. 1:20; Col. 3:14; Heb. 1:3, 813; 8:1; 10:12; 12:2). He is Lord! He rules! He reigns! All authority is given Him in heaven and on earth!Read Hebrews 1:3,813 to see Him through the eyes of the Father and verse 6 through the eyes of the angels. Paul declares in Ephesians 2:6, We areseated with Him in the heavenly places. Who dares condemn us?Who also intercedes for us. In other words, His very presence before the throne of God, at the right hand of God in our behalf, is itself an eternalintercession in our behalf.Dunn calls all of this the courtroom metaphor.10

2.3.

4.

The risen Christ pleads His sacrificial death before the Judge on behalf of those who have died with Him. . . . The verdict of acquittal or condemnation lies whollywith God alone. Gods commitment to His own in Christ is how His acquittal comes to effect. . . . The Judges own Right Hand Man is on our side, a morepowerful, and more favored advocate than any who may plead against Him. . . . The success of His advocacy over that of any challenge is assured since Hisresurrection and exaltation to Gods right hand was Gods own doing. . . .

How blessed! How comforting! Who dares condemn us when He appears in Gods presence for us? Satan, fool as he is, tries to do so but all invain (Rev. 12:10). As for his demons, when the Father raised Jesus from the dead and seated him at His own right hand, it was after angels andauthorities and powers had been subjected to Him (1 Pet. 3:22). This includes all of Satans fallen angels of all classes as well as Gods angels whojoyfully submit to Him (Heb. 1:314).Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? (v. 35). The expression the love of Christ is rare in Scripture. It is usually the love of Godwhich is in focus (v. 39). Why is it used here?While Paul does not say, one can venture a guess. In verses 3334 the focus has been upon Gods giving His Son to die for us, to be raised for us,to be glorified for us, and to intercede for us. Now Paul wants us to see Christs love for us in all of this. In fact he will continue to feature not onlyGods love, but Jesus love for us to the end of this chapter.Jesus Himself had said that no one, not even the Father, took His life from Him. He laid it down of His own accord (John 10:18). Paul now tellsus why He laid down His life for us: He loves us. If the believer allows that truth to penetrate his heart, mind, soul, emotions, indeed his very being,he will never be the same. The great theologian Karl Barth was once asked by a friend what was the greatest theological truth ever to enter his mind.He quickly answered,Jesus loves me,99 9. Calvin, 325.1010 10. James D. G. Dunn, Romans 18, WBC (Waco, Texas: Word, 1988a), 510511.

This I know,For the BibleTells me so.

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril or sword?Calvin comments that Paulpreferred ascribing personality to things without life, and for this endthat he might send forth with us into the contest as many champions as there are oftemptations to try our faith.11

As he had personified the creation which fell in mans fall and groans with the churchs groaning, so Paul now personifies the things that try ourfaith so severely. Look at them. Think of what they have done, are doing, and will yet do to our faith and the faith of our loved ones. What an evillist!TribulationsDistressPersecutionFamineNakednessPerilSwordShall any separately or all of these together separate us from the love of Christ? No, Paul says. In the midst of experiencing any or all of them, weare more than conquerors through Him who loved us (v. 37, NKJV). Yet, while going through them we usually feel that He has forsaken us.Perpetua and FelicitasConsider the story of the martyrdom of the 22-year-old Roman aristocrat, Perpetua, and her slave girl, Felicitas. It is told in a third-centurywriting called The Passion of Perpetua and Felicitas. Their faithfulness to Christ never ceases to stir my heart. The following paraphrase andquotations are taken from Ruth Tuckers exciting book From Jerusalem to Irian Jaya.12Vibia Perpetua was the mother of an infant son. She and her personal slave, Felicitas, who was eight months pregnant, were imprisoned in theRoman city of Carthage, North Africa. Their imprisonment occurred under the rule of Emperor Septimus Severus, the vile emperor who launched thefirst empire-wide persecution of Christians in A.D. 202. Tucker says, The emperor himself worshiped Serapis, an Egyptian god of the dead, and hefeared Christianity was a threat to his own religion.Christianity was growing rapidly in Carthage at the time, and the persecution there was the most intense in all the Roman Empire. Perpetua,Felicitas, three men, and their leader, a deacon named Saturus, were arrested. Perpetuas father, a respected nobleman, endured distress andhumiliation when he was informed that his only daughter had been arrested and imprisoned as a common criminal. He came and pleaded with her torenounce the new faith . . . [and] she refused. When he later heard that Perpetua was to be thrown into a public arena with wild beasts, he came tothe prison and tried forcibly to rescue her. He failed and was beaten by the Roman officials. Perpetua wrote, I was grieved by my fathers plight as ifI had been struck myself. Again he pled with her to consider the shame and suffering she was bringing upon her family and to renounce herChristian faith. She responded, This will be done on the scaffold which God has willed, for I know that we have not been placed in our own powerbut in Gods.

1111 11. Calvin, 327.

Perpetuas greatest sufferings while in prison awaiting her execution were due to her anxiety for her family and especially for her infant son. Shesaid she was racked with anxiety almost to the breaking point. Permission was finally given for her baby to be with her in prison until the day ofher death. She wrote, At once I recovered my health, relieved as I was of my worry and anxiety over the child.When the day of their execution drew near, the condemned believers met for prayer and to share an agape love feast, more concerned about theirworthiness, their loyalty to Christ than about the suffering ahead of them. Perpetua and Felicitas had already experienced five of the seven worstevils mentioned by Paul: tribulation, distress, persecution, famine (prison food was just enough to keep them alive), and peril. They were soon toexperience the last two sources of trials, nakedness and the sword.The men were first tortured for the entertainment of the crowd before their execution by being mauled by a bear, a leopard and a wild boar.Finally they were put to death. The two women were saved for last.Perpetua and Felicitas, who had given birth to her baby in prison, were stripped (nakedness) and sent into the arena to face a mad heifer. The gory torture soonbecame too much for the crowd and the people began shouting, Enough.When this preliminary exhibition was ended, the young women were brought to the executioner, at which time Perpetua called out to some grieving Christianfriends, Give out the word to the brothers and sisters; stand fast in the faith, love one another, and dont let suffering become a stumbling block to you.She was taken to the gladiator to be beheaded. . . . His first blow was not sufficient. Perpetua cried out in pain, and took the gladiators trembling hand anddirected the sword to her throat and it was over.

Tucker says that this ended the wave of persecution in Carthage. The church continued to grow steadily, however. Many were attracted to thefaith by the serenity and courage of Perpetua and her companions. Even Pudens, the prison governor, later turned to Christ and became a martyr forChrist.Young Perpetua and Felicitas experienced all seven of these curses for Christ. Did they feel that God had abandoned them? That they had beenseparated from Christ? No. They knew with Paul that, For thy sake we are being put to death all day long; We were considered as sheep to beslaughtered (v. 36).Pauls climactic note to all the agonies of our Christian life is the ecstatic cry, But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through himwho loved us (v. 37). Bible translators and commentators struggle to grasp the full power of Pauls triumphant exclamation in this verse. Williamstranslates, And yet in all these things we keep on gloriously conquering. PHILLIPS translates the phrase, No, in all these things we win anoverwhelming victory.THE ECSTASY WITHIN THE AGONYFinally come two of the most powerful verses of testimony to victory in spiritual warfare found anywhere in Scripture:For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anyother created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Rom. 8:3839)

For I am convinced, John Murray says, is an express declaration of the confidence entertained respecting the impossibility of separationfrom the love of Christ.13 William Barclay in his characteristic style says, So Paul goes on with a poets fervor and a lovers rapture to sing of hownothing can separate us from the love of God in our risen Lord.14The nine expressions listed in Romans 8:3839 are meant to universalize in the most emphatic way that nothing shall separate us from the love ofChrist. They are also meant to reinforce the dogmatic declaration that we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.Several of the expressions occur in pairs, the one expression being the opposite of the other: deathlife; things presentthings to come; heightdepth. Others are not so constituted but provide vivid imagery of powers greater than all human powers, such as angelsprincipalitiespowers. Finally, Paul exhausts all other possibilities by saying, nor any other created thing.1313 13. Murray, 332.1414 14. William Barclay, Romans, The Daily Bible Study Series (Philadelphia: Westminster, 195860), 123, in 20 Vol. Series.

The first pair, neither death nor life.

Barclay says, In life we live with Christ, in death we die with Him; and because we die with Him, we also rise with Him, and death so far frombeing a separation is only a step into His nearer presence. Death is not the end, it is only the gate of the skyline leading to the presence of Christ. 15The second pair, nor angels nor principalities.One interpretation of this pair is that they both refer to Gods angels. Thus the two expressions do not reveal a pair, the one expression theopposite of the other. Both refer to Gods angels (including perhaps powers).A second interpretation is that they, like death, nor life, are an opposing pair. Angels refers to Gods elect angels of all classes whileprincipalities refer to fallen angels of all classes.A third view is more agnostic. It affirms that we do not know if Paul was actually trying to contrast good angelic powers and evil angelic powersin his use of angels and principalities and later powers. All we do know is that none of these supernatural, created beings can separate us fromthe love of God in Christ.James D. G. Dunn represents the more agnostic position. He says that we cannot say for sure what Paul had in mind when he speaks of angels andprincipalities (and later powers). We do not know the detail of Pauls views concerning the essential differences between angels which were goodangels and those angels which were evil. All we do know is, whatever be the case, none of these created, disembodied, supernatural spirits canseparate us from the love of God in Christ.16Paul uses terms which would embrace the complete range of spiritual forces, however conceivedgood or evil, every possibility and eventuality is included (aswith death and life). . . . His concern, here, however, is pastoral rather than speculative. Whatever names his readers give to the nameless forces which threaten theCreators work and purpose, they are in the end impotent before Him who is God over all.

Since we are in an area of opinion, I will give mine. I believe Dunn is correct.17 In this verse the apostle is dealing with the normal Christian life.Thus he declares that nothing in the universe can ever separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord (v. 39b). If, hypotheticallyspeaking, angels were to attempt that separation (Gal. 1:8)and they dontthey would fail. If demonic powers were to attempt to do soand theydothey too would fail. He is not here speaking hypothetically, however, because as Paul teaches elsewhere, such a goal would be consistent withdemonic purposes.The former Archdeacon of London and Canon of St. Pauls Cathedral, the Rev. E. H. Gifford, wrote a book on Romans first published in 1886.He says, St. Pauls familiarity with Hebrew poetry led him to outline ten possible sources that threaten to separate the believer from God. He putsthem in poetic form, numbering each source as recorded below.18

Nor things present, nor things to come

7Nor powers,89Nor height, nor depth10Nor any other creature.This is a beautiful arrangement. Gifford himself holds the more agnostic view.19In our present passage angels and principalities must both have the widest possible application: the point in question is not the moral disposition, whether good orevil, but the power of the angelic order of created things.

He then states the distinction between angels and principalities is not a moral distinction but only a distinction in rank. Principalities are angelsof greater power and might (Eph. 6:12; 2 Peter 2:11).20 His entire discussion of these verses is worth studying.The third pair, nor things present nor things to come.Here we have a linear dimension: time. Paul is as human as the rest of us. He knows that the past is past. Even though it does affect us in thepresent and the future, we cannot really change the past. What happens in the present and the future does cause us true apprehension, however.Nothing that is presently occurring or will yet occur and nothing in the uncertain future can separate us from Gods love in Christ Jesus our Lord.There is a further word worth considering here, however. William Barclay says, no age in time can separate us from Christ. He reminds us of theJewish view of time. The Jews divided all time into this present age and the age to come. Thus according to Barclay,21 Paul is saying that In thispresent world nothing can separate us from God in Christ; the day will come when this world will be shattered and the new age will dawn. It does notmatter; even then, when this world has passed and the new world come, the bond is still the same.The fourth element is powers.Powers seems isolated from the rest. It probably is to be connected to the second pair, unless the apostle has something else in mind whichcommentators have not been able to understand as yet. I do not see why it cannot be seen as he uses it consistently in Ephesians and Colossians forhigh-level cosmic powers of evil. While not being dogmatic, I believe that is what Paul has in mind.The fifth pair is nor height nor depth.Dunn says Paul is deliberately drawing on current astronomical terms to denote the full sweep of the heavens visible and invisible to the humaneye. He also affirms that this would include all astrological powers known and unknown which could be thought to determine and control the fateand destiny of human beings. Whatever force they might bring to bear on believers,22 the love of God is greater still.23The final words, nor any other thing.1919 19. Gifford, 163.2020 20. Gifford, 163.2121 21. Barclay, 124.2222 22. It is to Dunns credit that he admits the possibility of such a force against believers. Barclays description of Paulschoice of words in the context of the astrological views of his day is excellent (124). He does not, however, apply Pauls words tothe spiritual reality behind astrology as does Dunn.2323 23. Dunn, 513.

Romans 8 is like a sermon, a poem, or a piece of beautiful prose, as it reasons towards its climax in this final word of Pauls. Like a choir, thewords build in ever-growing crescendo and beauty until they reach this final word, nothing in all of creation shall ever be able to separate us fromthe love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. All that needs to be added is, Amen.Murrays, Dunns, and Barclays comments are worth noting, however. Murray says, this concluding negation is for the purpose of leaving noloopholeno being or thing in the whole realm of created reality is excluded.24 Dunn says,Lest any thing or power within reality could be said to have been omitted from the above list, Paul rounds it off with an all-embracing addendum. Since God aloneis creator and since God is one, any other creature means everything else! Nothing, but nothing, can separate from Gods love in Christ Jesus our Lord. 25

Barclay writes that

here is a vision to take away all loneliness and fear. Paul is saying, You can think of every terrifying thing that this or any other world can produce. Not one ofthem is able to separate the Christian from the love of God which is in Jesus Christ, who is Lord of every terror and master of every world. Of what shall we beafraid?26

Dunn concludes his commentary on Romans 8:27

In this mysteryGod for us in Christ Jesus, the crucified as Lordlies the heart of Pauls assurance. This towering confidence rests foursquare on Christ, onGods commitment to His own in Christ and on their commitment to this Christ as Lord, Master and determiner of all. With this much said, no more need be said,and both chorus and soloist fall silent.

E. H. Gifford writes that Romans 8:3139 is a noble hymn of victory (which) while growing out of its immediate context (vv. 2830), andhaving a primary reference to the sure triumph of them that love God, forms at the same time a grand conclusion to the whole doctrinal portion of theEpistle. He quotes Godet.28It is the crown of that edifice of salvation in Christ, of which St. Paul had laid the foundation in his demonstration of the righteousness of faith (15) and raised thesuperstructure in his exposition of sanctification (68). After this it will only remain for us to see this salvation thus studied in its essence, unfold itself upon thestage of history.

That salvation can only unfold itself on the stage of history as the people of God demonstrate their abundant and conquering Christian life to anincredulous and doubting public.A Passion for Purity and PowerWhile living in this world we are continually grieved at the spread of sin and lawlessness. We yearn that His kingdom will come and that Hiswill shall be done as in heaven also on earth (Matt. 6:9, literal translation). We know this will never be fully realized until God makes new heavensand a new earth, where only righteousness dwells. Thus we long for His coming. In the meantime, we seek to be blameless and innocent, children ofGod above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation among whom [we] appear as lights in the world (Phil. 2:15). In essence, thatis the abundant but normal Christian life (John 10:10b).Rev. Keith Benson, missionary in Argentina since 1957, labors in the interior of that vast country where God is presently moving in such mightypower after years of awful resistance to the Spirit of God.29 The area where Keith is laboring is the center of indigenous, demonic worship called2424 24. Murray, 334.2525 25. Dunn, 513.2626 26. Barclay, 124125.2727 27. Dunn, 513.2828 28. Godet in Gifford, 164.2929 29. See Argentina-born Rev. Ed Silvosos exciting chapter on the present move of the Holy Spirit in formerly resistantArgentina (where I spent my first years as a new missionary, 19581962) in C. Peter Wagner, ed., Territorial Spirits (Chichester,England: Sovereign World Limited, 1991b), 109115.

Difunta Correa. Superstition, lust, demonism, and spiritism is the daily experience, he writes. He recently wrote me a letter which expresses wellthe burden to see Christians truly live an abundant life of holiness and power.My burdenin a wordis evangelism with holiness. I long that people get converted because they see the holiness of God, and not merely because they have aneed. May they feel their need of holiness, is my prayer, my burden.

I read that Ghandi once said,

I like your Christ but I dont like your Christians.

May God work so deeply in our lives that people who know us will say,I like your Christ and I am inspired by your Christians.

12The Reality of Below Normal PerformancePBPWMGINTWMY.This strange string of letters are displayed on a button given to those who attend one of Bill Gothards seminars on Basic Christian Conflicts.The arrangement translates to Please Be Patient With Me. God Is Not Through With Me Yet.The apostle Paul was acutely conscious of this problem in his own life. Thus he wrote in Philippians 3:1214:1Yet, my brothers, I do not consider myself to have arrived spiritually, nor do I consider myself already perfect. But I keep going on, grasping ever more firmlythat purpose for which Christ Jesus grasped me.My brothers, I do not consider myself to have fully grasped it even now. But I do not concentrate on this. I leave the past behind, and with hands outstretched towhatever lies ahead, I go straight for the goalmy reward, the honor of my high calling by God in Christ Jesus.

The normal Christian life as described in the previous chapters and the entire New Testament is not the norm among the majority of the worldsChristians. Why?All of us as believers will always fall short of the biblical ideal until the day of our glorification in the kingdom of God. The ideal is always meantto be the ideal, the goal towards which we continually move without ever reaching it. In other words, there must always be progress. There mustnever be stagnancy in our Christian life. We need to know Him better, to be more like Him, to love Him more, to obey Him more completely, to walkmore fully in the Spirit, putting to death all works of the flesh and obeying with deeper insight His Holy Word. This ideal is always, in one sense,unattainable in this life.Jesus once expressed the ideal of the normal Christian life with these words: You are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.2 This isour purpose or ideal. This side of glory can we ever say, I have finally become perfect in my relationships both to God (Matt. 19:21a) and my fellowman (Matt. 5:48)? Whats next?The ideal is the absolute goal or purpose towards which all of us progress. We are to be continually transformed to the image of Christ, Paul tellsus in Romans 8:2830. This side of the glory that is to be revealed to us (Rom. 8:18), that goal will not be fully realized in this earthly life. We will11 1. Phillips translation.22 2. See Delling in Gerhard Kittel, TDNT (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 19771978) 8:7374. Dellings discussion of teleios,translated perfect as used in Matthew 5:48, is worth studying. He says the context in which teleios is used for our being perfector complete as the Father is perfect, complete, undivided in Matthew 5:48 refers to the believers relationships to his fellowman, while in Matthew 19:21a the focus is on our undivided relationship to God. The NEB translation of Matthew 5:48 captureswell this idea.

always come short of Gods ideal for our lives. As God is patient with us, we must, therefore, be patient with ourselves as well as with each other(Eph. 4:315:23; 1 Cor. 11:1; 1 Pet. 2:21; 1 John 2:6 with John 8:29; James 1:24 with Heb. 12:1014).BARRIERS TO THE NORMAL CHRISTIAN LIFEMany Christians, including Christian leaders, fall far short of the biblical ideal, however. Why? There may be as many different reasons as thereare struggling Christians.Viewing Salvation as an Escape From Sins JudgmentPerhaps many believers fall far short of the biblical norm because they are not truly interested in reaching it. For those who fit this category, thefocus of their encounter with Christ is often on personal salvation from the guilt and the penalty for their sins. While this emphasis is harmoniouswith Scripture as one begins his walk with God, it is not sufficient for a life that could be called Christian in the full sense of the word.The experience of one of my high school classmates is a case in point. At the time I was a sincere Roman Catholic with a deep Godconsciousness. I had a hunger to know the Lord in a personal way but did not find him within my church. I lived a very moral life and was known asone of the good religious boys on campus.The only Protestant churches I knew anything about we called holy roller churches. And they were! I remember one located a few blocks frommy home. While walking near the church during evening services I could hear their worship half a block away from the church.At first I was amused by it all. Later I became repelled by their emotional frenzy. It seemed eerie, almost fearful. I was glad I didnt belong to thatkind of church. A group of us would occasionally stand outside one of the windows to watch the spectacle. The noise level was unbelievable. Menand women were shouting and falling on the floor. Everything seemed to be in total confusion.One of my high school friends was a nice unsaved Protestant even as I was a Roman Catholic. He too lived a very moral life. We enjoyed ourfriendship, loved the outdoors, sports, and the good things kids did in high school without getting involved in sinful activities.One day I heard that my friend had gotten saved at a holy roller meeting. John, we heard you got saved last Sunday. What does thatmean? a group of us asked him.Well, the pastor preached a sermon on hell. It scared me so much I was determined I didnt want to go there if I could avoid it, he replied. Hesaid if we would come to the altar and confess our sins we would get saved from hell. So I did. I dont want to go to hell.What else did he tell you? we asked.He said it is a sin to go to the movies and dances. I have to stay away from those things or I could still end up in hell, he replied.This was too much for all of us, me included. While I understood sin and believed in hell, I had never heard that movies and dances were sinfuland would send you to hell. We all told him to leave the holy roller church. After a short time he did.By his own confession he went forward to get saved to escape hell.3 Evidently the love and beauty of Gods plan of salvation was notpresented or, at least, did not reach him.Did he truly find the Lord? I dont know. Perhaps we were the voice of the Evil One through whom the Word sown was removed from his heart(Matt. 13:19). Perhaps he never was given the word of the kingdom, so there was really no firm truth to remove from his heart.Viewing Salvation as Receiving God the ServantOthers who fit the category of believers who do not truly desire to live a life totally pleasing to God have embraced a gospel of God the servant,as I choose to call it. They have been told, directly or indirectly, that if they come to Christ, life will be pleasant from then on. All will go well. Godwill become their divine servant. He will provide all of their needs. God wants to make you happy, they are told, and is available to prosper you inlife.33 3. Hell is a reality. The New Testament is filled with references to it, many from the lips of Jesus Himself. This was not His mainmessage, however. His main message was the kingdom of God and eternal life.

If they dont like their present job and want a better one, God will provide it. If they are sick, God will heal them. If they need a newer, morecomfortable car, it is available for the asking. God owns all the cattle on a thousand hills, they are told. He is your Father and will share hismaterial riches with you.When I first made my decision to live totally for the Lord three years after my conversion, things did not go nicely for me. In fact, totally theopposite occurred. My mother disowned me as her son, somewhat of a sacred duty in those days for Roman Catholic parents whose children becameProtestants. I went directly to Bible school but had so little money I barely had enough to eat one meal a day weekends when the school cafeteria wasclosed.My fiancee broke off our engagement. I was convinced God had called me into missions, but she did not want to be married to a missionary. Shesaid I had to choose between her and the will of God. I wanted her, but I also wanted to obey God. I finally chose Gods will and the pain thataccompanied it.Soon I came under direct demonic attack. I thought I was losing my mind. The focus of the attack was on the words of a Roman Catholic priestwho told me that if I left the Catholic church to become a Protestant missionary I was doomed to hell. One morning I awakened to a sense of evil inmy dorm room. I was filled with fear. I thought I saw the Devil or a demon in my room. You are going to hell, it said. You have left the truechurch of Jesus Christ. You are lost.4Fear swept over me. My stomach felt nauseous. I trembled from head to foot. Terror pulsated through me. My mind became confused. I tried toassure myself that it was a lie. I knew Jesus had said, He that hears my Word and believes on Him who sent me has eternal life, and does not comeinto judgment, but has passed out of death into life (John 5:24).The Holy Spirit had used this verse three years earlier to bring me to the assurance of salvation as a gift of God solely through faith in the LordJesus Christ. It had meant everything to me before. It meant nothing to me now. It contained only words. They were words that to me were withoutthe power they had before. I was lost! There was no hope for me! I was going to hell!I prayed. My roommate, a strong believer, prayed for me. Nothing helped. I felt I was slipping deeper and deeper into a pit of darkness. It was apit of fear, anxiety, and sheer terror.While I knew it was from the Devil, that did not change matters. I could not resist him. I could not find the faith or strength to counterattack. Itried to use the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God, but it seemed that the sword was dull and that the Spirit had abandoned me.I cried out to God, but He did not seem to hear me nor answer me. He hid Himself from me. My despair did not begin one early morning and endthat night. It continued day and night for a week. I became so sick and afraid, I could neither get out of bed nor go to my classes. I was convinced Iwas going to hell. I was terrified. My godly roommate sent word to the various prayer groups which met on campus. They faithfully prayed for me,but nothing helped. In fact, I became worse.In the providence of God, the semester day of prayer came at the end of that week. Although attendance was compulsory, I did not attend. I wastoo afraid. As I lay in bed, I suddenly felt compelled to get up and go to one of the rooms where the men students would be praying. I was convincedthat if God was going to deliver me it would probably be there, with them in prayer.As I entered the room I was still afraid. The men were standing up one by one, leading out in prayer. I had never prayed out loud in a publicmeeting before. However, before I knew it I was on my feet, praying with all my soul. I cried out unashamedly to the Lord. I reminded Him I was His

44 4. No one in my circle of contacts talked about demons in those days. If they did, I didnt hear them. None of my professors orfellow students did. Satan was believed to be alive, but he primarily lived in biblical times, on the mission field, and in theologytextbooks. We were not taught how demons attempt to resist and deceive believers. We were told we were to resist the Devil, butwe had no real handles on this to know what it meant.

child. I loved Him and wanted Him to fill my life with His love and peace and to take away all fears. I spoke back to Him His promises of eternal lifein His Son.On and on I prayed, afraid, yet determined to be free from my fears. The more I prayed back to God His promises of life and peace in His Son,the greater became my conviction that He was hearing me and was going to answer. Peace slowly began to flood my soul. The darkness slowlyreceded. Finally all became light. The darkness was totally gone. I knew God had heard and restored unto me the joy of my salvation (Ps. 51:12).God the Sovereign ProviderSometime after this terrible experience I was listening to an evangelist pleading with people to come to Christ. His message was what I now call aGod the servant message. One of my friends who was with me called it rose bed theology: Come to Christ and life will become a bed of roses. Iremember remarking, The only problem with roses are the thorns.This is not to say that God is not the provider. One of His names is Jehovah Jireh. It means the Lord, our Provider or the Lord will provide.He is our helper, our deliverer, our healer; but He is God, and He is not our servant. In His wisdom and sovereignty, He does not always provide aswe expect provision to be. He does not always help as we understand help to be. He does not always deliver as we suppose deliverance to be. Hedoes not always heal as we believe healing to be.We read Hebrews 11:435a, which gives the account of those who were provided for, helped, delivered, healed, even raised from the dead. This isthe good news from a totally human perspective. The bad news from the same perspective occurs in verses 35b40. This is the account of thosewho were not provided for, not helped, not delivered, not healed. The dividing words between the two groups are found in verse 35b, and otherswere. . . .The Barriers of Ignorance, Wrong Choices, and BlindnessThe third observation as to why so many believers do not live the normal Christian life is quite different. Many are truly interested but are facingproblems in their life about which they themselves are baffled and confused. Millions of Christians want to follow Christ with all their heart. Theytruly love the Lord Jesus and want to obey Him. They seem to be stymied in their Christian life, however, and they do not know why. It has nothingto do with sincerity. They could not be more sincere.Recently I had the privilege of participating in a Bible study for Christian leaders led by Dr. Bill Lawrence, Associate Professor of PastoralStudies of Dallas Theological Seminary. Bill was speaking on Adequacy and Inadequacy in the Christian Life.5 His message was partlyautobiographical. Bill told of his own struggles in learning how to live the normal Christian life. He said,I tried to live the Christian life for years. I read Gods Word where it said we are to be obedient, and I tried to be obedient. I saw we are to havefaith, and I tried to have faith. I read that we are to submit to the lordship of Christ, and I tried to submit to His lordship. I was taught that all I had todo was learn His commands in His Word and choose to do them, and I would be able to do them. I tried it, but I was totally inadequate.The result? A big cover-up. I did not want people to really know me, so I built walls around my life to keep people away. I worked hard atappearing as a victorious Christian, especially as a pastor. I tried to prove to everyone my great value to God. I did not know that the Lord was settingme up so I could fail.Using the story of the feeding of the 5,000 in Luke 9:1217, Bill developed his theme showing how this entire incident was set up by Jesus toteach His disciples their inadequacy and His adequacy to make them what He wanted them to be.We are all like water polo players, Bill said. We live all the time in the deep end of the pool with no time outs allowed. We are to learn that weare never adequate to feed the multitudes.We are given an impossible responsibility with totally inadequate resources facing overwhelming problems, all in the context of spiritualwarfare. Therefore our ministry is always a supernatural ministry.55 5. From authors notes taken while participating in the Bible study.

Jesus follows the bless and break principle in our lives as He did with the loaves and fishes (Luke 9:16). The disciples were first told to dowhat they could do with the resources they had, verses 13b15. They obeyed. Next Jesus took what they had and blessed it, verse 16a.He will take the gifts and experiences we already have and bless them. We are to bless Him for what He has given us, Bill said. Then headmonished us, Dont play the comparison game. Dont say I wish I were somebody else or I had what others have. This is an identity crisis. Godhas made each of us a new man in Christ. He will work through each of us.We all have three things. We have strengths, limitations, and flaws. He will bless and multiply the gifts and experiences He has given. These areour strengths. God also gave us our limitations. They are sovereignly defined limitations. To know my limitations is as important as knowing mystrengths. My flaws are the weakness of the flesh. These are the areas in my life where I need to grow.I was greatly interested in his reference to flaws, because I was working on this chapter at the time of the Bible study. When asked the source ofthe flaws, Bill replied that there are three: ignorance, wrong choices, and blindness.Often believers are ignorant of who they are in Christ.6 When we know who we are in Christ we begin to truly trust the Lord. Also, we are thenfree to take risks for God, even to fail and to learn through our failures.Making wrong choices is wilful disobedience to the Word of God.Finally, blindness is failure to recognize our own weaknesses. Much comes out of how we were raised both in our homes and in our churches. Wefail to recognize the reality of the sin which is in our life, that is, how marred we really are. We build our life on flawed foundations.In talking about the way out of our blindness, Bill shared three suggestions: One, we are to walk in the Spirit of God. Two, we are to be open tothe Word of God. Three, we are to be open to the help and admonition of others.As Bill affirmed, in most teaching about the normal Christian life, the ideal is strongly presented. We are told what type of life we are to live. Thebeliever is then told to submit to the lordship of Christ and strive to follow the biblical model.The problem, however, is this: The normal Christian life is more than a question of human resolve. It is more than an issue of correct attitude. It iseven more than an issue of submission to God and the lordship of Christ. The missing element in much teaching about the normal Christian life is thefull biblical dimension of spiritual warfare. Part of that dimension includes our dealing realistically with the very real difficulties of everyday life.BEARING THE BRUISES OF BATTLEThe Christian life is full of apparent contradictions. We are told that the way to rest in God is to be totally submitted to His will (Rom. 12:12).Yet the believer who does so immediately discovers that he is at war. From within, from without, and from above he is harassed, resisted, afflicted,tormented, tripped up, sabotaged, and too often, defeated.When this happens over a long period of time, even though we are told not to grow weary in well doing (Gal. 6:9 NKJV), we do grow weary. Webecome discouraged. We begin to suffer battle fatigue. We become critical, bitter, even cynical, and too often deliberately sinful.Dealing With FailurePeter E. Gilquists helpful article Spiritual Warfare: Bearing the Bruises of the Battle touches on this area.7 He says, The successful Christianlife must have built into it a certain expectation of failure.Our pride says, No! Others fail, yes! But not me. But truth and reality say, Yes, even me. We are too proud to admit to or accept any failure inour personal life, our families, or our ministry.I was participating in a mens retreat several years ago, sharing the teaching sessions with another brother, a good friend of mine. In the course ofhis teaching on the family, he used the illustration of one of his teenaged children. He said, If there ever was a perfect daughter, my Mary is that66 6. See Neil T. Anderson, Victory Over the Darkness (Ventura, Calif.: Regal, 1990b), 51f for an excellent study of who we are inChrist, also in a spiritual warfare context.77 7. Peter E. Gilquist, Spiritual Warfare: Bearing the Bruises of Battle, Christianity Today, August 8, 1980.

girl. His words went through me like a knife. I had been suffering for weeks trying to counsel one of my teenage children. While a good youngster,he was anything but perfect. I felt that his struggles reflected on me as a father and a Christian leader. Guilt for neglecting my son because of myerratic schedule made me squirm.8I also was concerned for another close friend who was present for the conference. He and his wife were two of the most loving, kind, godly, andconsistent Christian parents I had ever known. Their daughter graduated from college, married, and had an ideal Christian home. The boy, however,got into trouble in college, going from one tragedy to another. At the time he was living anything but a victorious Christian life. He was an alcoholic.What was my brother feeling inside on hearing my fellow speaker continue on, talking about his perfect child? I could not bear to ask him.Our churches are filled with hurting people. Many of them, like my friend referred to above, are heart-broken parents who have seen one or moreof their children walk away from the Lord, the church, and even from a stable moral life in youth or later in adulthood. Every time someone elsegives testimony of how their children all walk with God, quoting Proverbs 22:6, Train up a child in the way he should go. Even when he is old hewill not depart from it, they die a little more inside. Their sense of failure becomes almost unbearable.Where did we go wrong? they ask themselves. We must have failed as parents. There must be sin in our life. Why is that promise true ofeverybody else, but not of us?Such hurting people are often so ashamed they dare not talk to anyone about their problem. They often think they are the only ones suffering suchguilt and sense of failure. If they only knew the truth, they would find they are not alone in their agony.Seldom or never do the brethren who boast of their success as parents, claiming this verse, ask themselves who it was who wrote these words. Itwas Solomon. What happened when Solomon himself became old? The Bible tells us in no uncertain terms.Now King Solomon loved many foreign women along with the daughter of Pharaoh: Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women . . . For it cameabout when Solomon was old, his wives turned his heart away after other gods; and his heart was not wholly devoted to the LORD his God, as the heart of Davidhis father had been. (1 Kings 11:1,4)

Was his departure from God and a moral life the fault of David his father or Bathsheba his mother? While they had their own guilt before God,the Lord never pointed his finger at their failures as the cause of Solomons failure. Solomon alone (with the Devil) was to blame, and only he waspunished for his sins.David is always held up by God as the ideal man of God and godly ruler. Remember 1 Kings 15:5 declares, David did what was right in the sightof the LORD, and had not turned aside from anything that He commanded him all the days of his life, except in the case of Uriah the Hittite.Yet the sin of Solomon, Davids most outstanding son, the man chosen by God himself to sit on Davids throne, the one to whom the Lord, theGod of Israel, had appeared twice (1 Kings 11:9), had consequences so devastating for Israel it would be difficult to exaggerate its affects.Perspective on Parental ResponsibilityFurthermore, if the godliness and consistency of parents is to be measured primarily by the lifestyle of their children, God Himself is the greatestfailure as a father. Adam was His son (Luke 3:38). Yet that son rebelled against Him, dragging the entire human race to the brink of hell with him.God later called Israel to be His son (Hosea 11:1). Read the laments of the Father God over the waywardness of His rebellious sons (vv. 212).They remind me of Gods later lament for Israel in Isaiah 1:24:Listen, O heavens, and hear, O earth; For the LORD speaks, Sons I have reared and brought up, But they have revolted against Me. An ox knows its owner, And adonkey its masters manger, But Israel does not know, My people do not understand. Alas, sinful nation, People weighed down with iniquity, Offspring ofevildoers, Sons who act corruptly! They have abandoned the LORD, They have despised the Holy One of Israel, They have turned away from Him.

88 8. God is sovereign. I do not doubt that He was using this painful incident to help me to fail so that I might learn lessons I couldnot learn in any other way.

I believe Proverbs 22:6 is the expression of a general principle. As we teach our children the way to walk, they may have their ups and downs, butthey will usually return to Gods ways. This is what has occurred with my four children, including the son already mentioned. But it does not alwayshappen that way.When children raised in a godly, happy Christian home rebel and turn away from the Lord, Proverbs 22:6 is not the verse those heartbrokenparents need. They need verses of encouragement, promises they can claim, examples they can follow. I myself have followed Jobs practice (Job1:45). I claim promises for my children and grandchildren like Isaiah 43:25; 44:35,2123; 55:23; 59:21 and others. Each can make his ownpromise list as God speaks by His Spirit to his heart.For those whose children or other loved ones have already died apparently in rebellion against the Lord, we can rest in Genesis 18:25b, Shall notthe Judge of all the earth deal justly?Another dimension of bruising in battle must be mentioned. An increasing number of once-model Christian homes are being shaken, somedestroyed by infidelity, divorce, incest, and other forms of child abuse. To whom do the innocent turn for help? To whom do the guilty come whenthey repent and return to the Lord? Will they be able to find a home among all the successful Christians who hide their own sinfulness and failures?Gilquist writes, May the Lord give us victory over the belief that we always have to be victorious. We will eventually win the war, but we willnot win every battle. If this were not so then the war would not be a true war. But it is. Though the ferocity of the war waxes and wanes, it never endswhile we live in this body of sin. Believers must be taught the ways of spiritual warfare as soon as they enter Gods family.SPIRITUAL WARFARE IN THE BELIEVERS SANCTIFICATIONThe last major point I want to address in this chapter can hardly be overemphasized. For the unbeliever, spiritual warfare is a salvation issue. Thegod of this world blinds the minds of all unbelievers that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God(2 Cor. 4:4).This is not true of the believer, however. For the child of God spiritual warfare is not a salvation issue, but a sanctification issue.The Believers Salvation Is SecureOur salvation is already secured by the grace of God and the blood of the cross. The believers salvation has its origin exclusively in the sovereignoperation of divine grace entered into solely by faith (Eph. 1:314; 2:122). When it comes to that salvation the stress in Scripture falls upon:1. The sovereign election of God (Eph. 1:312; 2:10).9 Regardless of how we define election, we are the elect of God, period.2. The grace of God (Eph. 1:67; 2:59).3. The love of God (Eph. 1:45; 2:4).4. The mercy of God (Eph. 1:5,9; 2:4).5. The substitutionary, propitiatory, redemptive death of the Lord Jesus Christ for our sins, that is, His precious blood shed on the cross for oursins (Acts 20:28; Rom. 3:2325a; 5:9).106. The regenerating ministry of His Holy Spirit, that is, the new birth produced by the indwelling Spirit of God (John 3:38; Rom. 8:14,9,15). 117. The intercessory ministry of the Spirit of God within us and that of the glorified Son of God at the right hand of God on our behalf (Rom.8:2627; 8:34; Heb. 7:25; 9:24).Thus the strong note of assurance of salvation, eternal redemption, eternal life, the life of the age to come in the New Testament. This life isprovided for every believer regardless of his maturity or immaturity in Christ (Eph. 1:48a,1314; Phil. 1:6).99 9. See also Acts 13:48; Romans 8:2830; 9:624; 11:136; 1 Peter 1:19.1010 10. See also 1 Corinthians 10:16; 11:25; Ephesians 1:7; 2:13; Colossians 1:1214; 2:913; Hebrews 9:1328; 10:1014,1922;1 Peter 1:2,1821; 1 John 1:7; 2:12; Revelation 1:5.1111 11. See also Galatians 4:6; Ephesians 2:18,22; 3:1621; Titus 3:47.

The Bitter Fruit of Insecurity Regarding Ones Salvation

The failure to enter into the rest of the assurance of salvation leads to havoc in the Christians life. The writer of Hebrews felt so strongly aboutthis that he wrote, Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity, not laying again a foundation ofrepentance from dead works and of faith toward God, of instruction about washings, and laying on of hands, and the resurrection of the dead, andeternal judgment. And this we shall do, if God permits (Heb. 6:13).I was once teaching a series on spiritual warfare in a large church in a major U.S. city. The Sunday morning church services were televised, and atelephone counseling service operated during and after the televised service. Among the phone calls was one from the wife of a former pastor. Thelady and her husband were desperate for help and asked if I could counsel them. While it had been announced that I was not available for counseling,because this case pertained to needy Christian leaders and I was remaining in the area for a few days, I agreed to see them.Accompanied by mature lay leaders from the church so the couple could have further counseling when needed, I met with them. The wife camefrom a dysfunctional family. She grew up with a bad self-image. She became a perfectionist, always trying to excel, but never reaching herexpectations. She had severe sexual problems. She loved her husband and was faithful to him, yet she was never satisfied with their intimaterelationship. She took the initiative in leading her husband into unwholesome sexual practices, and her husband, who loved her very much, wentalong with anything she suggested. Nothing worked, however. Her sense of unworthiness and guilt only increased.Nor could she find rest in her relationship with God. Nothing she did pleased Him. She felt He was always angry with her and never accepted her,even though she continually sought ways to please Him. As a result, she and her husband became church hoppers, looking for some type ofspiritual experience which would satisfy her spiritual longing.Finally, they found a church which seemed to meet her needs. She did have a dramatic experience with the Holy Spirit, which she had been toldwould transform her life and give her personal peace and power to live for God. To some degree it didfor a while.Unfortunately, this church was strong on a guilt, unworthiness, I am a worm (Ps. 22:6) concept of the Christian life. Exposure of sin wascentral in its message. Believers were made continually aware of their sinfulness and unworthiness. When they confessed their sins they were toreceive Christ all over again as sin separated them from God. The last part of each Sunday evening service was dedicated to encouraging believers torepent of their sins and come back to the Lord. Those who did were asked to give public testimony to what God was doing in their lives. Thetestimonies always seemed to focus on loss of salvation through sin and spiritual rebirth when sin was confessed and forsaken and Christ was newlyreceived.The troubled woman had always struggled with the assurance of salvation. Witnessing these testimonies only increased her sense of guilt andunworthiness. She lost what assurance of salvation she already had. She sought counseling, but her counselors could not help her. She becamedesperate. Her husband also became desperate. He did not know how to help her.Spiritual Warfare and Achieving Spiritual WholenessAs they listened to the television message that Sunday morning, a whole new dimension of the Christian life was opened to them. While theyalways believed in Satan and demons, they had little practical insight into spiritual warfare. They wondered if evil supernaturalism was involved inher problems and requested a counseling session with me.The difficulties this woman was facing were not necessarily demonic. Probably in most such cases demons, even if they are present, are not theprinciple problem. And even if demons are involved, their expulsion does not necessarily cure the problem.12 This case, however, involved directdemonic activity in at least three areas of her life: her poor self-image which began when she was an only child, brought up in a dysfunctional home;her inability to rest in Gods promise of salvation; and her sexual malfunctions.1212 12. See chap. 59 of our study where I attempt to deal more in depth with the relationship of demons to personalitymalfunctions. This is one of the most troublesome areas of counseling and spiritual warfare ministry.

The counseling she had received was not effective for several reasons. The counselor was not trained well enough to help complex cases likehers. The counseling had not been going on long enough. After a few sessions the woman became discouraged and did not return. Finally, thedemonic dimension had not even been considered. No one suspected that demons were involved in her problem, directly or indirectly.The point at which her problems became so intensified she could no longer function satisfactorily as a person and a Christian focused around hercomplete loss of the assurance of her salvation. While she had battled for years over this issue, she had been able to muster up enough faith andcontinue functioning as a believer. The church culture into which she had recently moved had only served to make her situation critical.13As we counseled her, many dimensions of her early bruising came to light, and her damaged sexual life began to come into focus. At this pointthe first group of demons surfaced. They left her one by one or in groups without much difficulty. In spite of her up-and-down Christian life, she trulyloved the Lord and had a strong desire to walk in holiness and healing.It was not long before the story of her loss of all assurance of salvation came to the forefront. Most of our counseling then focused on helping herknow who she was in Christ. After helping to free her from demonic oppression and after many hours of counseling, she and her husband went awaywith a sense of assurance and guidelines for further counseling.To enter into victory in spiritual warfare, the believer must rest in the fact that his salvation is totally of God. The believers part is repentance forsin and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord (Acts 20:21). The one who exercises such faith is secure in Christ, be he a strong Christianor a weak Christian.Spiritual Warfare Ministry to Believers Builds on the Assurance of SalvationSpiritual warfare for the believer belongs exclusively to the arena of sanctification, not at all to the arena of salvation.14 Before we come to Christ,it is a salvation issue. After we come to him, it becomes a sanctification issue. Satan knows he cannot take us to hell with him once we come toChrist. He does seek to disturb our Christian life so we do not live as true children of God.On one occasion I was ministering to a demonically afflicted Christian. The demons had been telling their victim in his mind that he was not atrue believer, that God had abandoned him, and that he was going to hell. While I was trying to help him accept himself in Christ as a redeemed childof God, a demonic voice yelled through his lips, He is not a Christian. He belongs to us. He is not going to heaven. He is going to hell with us. Lethim alone. He is ours.I shut off his lies. I decided to allow him to speak out loud just long enough to force him to tell the truth for the benefit of some of the bewilderedbelievers who were with me in the session. Within a matter of a few minutes the demon confessed he was lying. Some of what it spoke is worthnoting.Is he a true believer? I asked.Yes, the demon replied. He loves your Jesus just like you do.Why did you lie to him about his salvation? I asked. Its our nature to lie, it replied. We did not want him to know that he is really a believer.That way we can mess up his life.1313 13. I am not questioning the validity of experiences with the Holy Spirit nor even that of the particular experience she soughtfor and received. I am questioning the teaching that such experiences in themselves, will cure wounded people. Learning how towalk in the Spirit, appropriate the promises of God, resist the Devil, and receive on-going healing by the Spirit all takes time.Thorough, on-going counseling by a trained and spiritually gifted counselor will be necessary in the case of severely emotionally,physically, and spiritually damaged people. This is especially true if personality splitting has occurred. (See chapter 59.)1414 14. Again, while salvation can be seen as the total picture of Gods dealing with us which would also include sanctification, Iam not using salvation in its broadest aspect. I am using salvation as the initial work of God by which He forgives all our sins inChrist and takes us out of the kingdom of darkness and into the kingdom of His dear Son (Col. 1:13). Sanctification is the processof living as a son of the kingdom.

You cannot take him to hell with you as you have been telling him, I said. He has been cleansed from all sin by the blood of Christ and he isgoing to heaven, isnt that true?Yes! Yes! We know it! We know it! We know he is going to heaven. We know we cant take him to hell, but we want to make his life a hell onearth, the evil spirit replied.Thus the importance of the assurance of our eternal salvation. We must understand once and for all that:1. A Christian is still a Christian even if he is struggling with a serious sin problem in his life (1 Cor. 5:15; 11:3032; 1 John 2:12);2. A Christian is still a Christian even if he is struggling with a serious world problem in his life (2 Tim. 4:10); and3. A Christian is still a Christian even if he is struggling with a serious demonic problem in his life (Acts 5:110; 1 Tim. 5:915).A hurting believer wrote me: I am a conservative evangelical who has realized he has demonic problems. Ive shared my problems with some ofmy conservative evangelical friends and they have cut off fellowship with me. They claim that Christians cant have demons. . . . Therefore I mustnot be a Christian. They were actually fearful of me. The rejection was very hurtful. Now I know it was partly Satans influence that caused them toreject me.The denial that true believers can have severe demonic problems can have devastating consequences on hurting believers. Any doctrine thatundermines the faith and assurance of salvation of born-again believers must be rejected. Again I repeat: A Christian is still a Christian even if he isstruggling with a serious demonic problem in his life.A believer may be walking in the Spirit in most areas of his life and at the same time be defeated in one or more other areas of his life. That wasthe situation with many of the believers at Corinth and Philippi in Pauls day, according to the apostles own words in 1 Corinthians 1:413 and 3:14and Philippians 1:1218 and 2:1921.Any Christian counselor or pastor who does any serious counseling knows this to be true. The last thing one should do to weak believers is callinto question their salvation in Christ. Only on the basis of their relationship to Christ is there any hope of their victory over the evil spirits afflictingtheir life.Finally, it is important to understand that spiritual warfare is a multidimensional sin issue that plagues all believers. As Christian soldiers, wecontinually combat evil on three fronts: the flesh, the world, and the Devil. It is time now to examine these battle lines in more detail.

13What Is Happening to Me?A Multidimensional Sin WarFor as long as I can remember I have had a deep longing to know God. I knew a lot about Him, but I did not know Him personally. Unfortunately myCatholic church was weak at this point. It taught us about God. We learned about Christ. We followed the Stations of the Cross as they were markedout in the sculptured reliefs along each side of the church. This helped to engrave in our mind and emotions the steps of Jesus as He carried His crossthrough the narrow streets of Jerusalem to Calvary.He did this for us. I loved Him for it. But how could I come to know Jesus personally? Unfortunately the priests and nuns who taught me didntknow either, or didnt know how to help me find Him. I wanted Him to become my personal Savior.When I finally came to know Him personally, I was elated. Now He was mine. I was His.I had always lived a good religious life. I had kept apart from sinful people. I did not shun them, but I refused to participate in their sinfulways. Everyone who knew me knew me as a good Catholic boy who did not smoke, drink, cuss or chew, nor go out with girls who do, as someonehas said.

Now that Jesus lived within me, I wanted Him to really live within me. I wanted to live a holy life. I read Saint Thomas AY Kempis classic book,The Imitation of Christ. Next to the Bible, it was my favorite devotional reading. I would do okay for awhile. Then before I knew it, imaginationstowards things not pleasing to God would arise within me.Then there was the world around me. Fortunately pornography was not in wide use when I was a teenager. How much compassion I feel fortodays youth! They are forced to live in a world saturated with pornography. We adults have created a world whose sole purpose seems to be tostimulate everyone sexually, from kids to adults, everywhere, all the time. Then we wonder why kids get into trouble.While not as flagrant in my little rural town, it was still there. The stimulus towards sin and self continually came against my mind from theworld. I tried to fight it off, but the struggle persisted.There were also times when I seemed to be tripped up by supernatural forces stimulating me towards evil. At times they seemed to be strongerthan God. I knew this was the Devil, but I didnt know how to fight him.Why, since God is my Father, Jesus is my Savior, and the Holy Spirit lives in me, cant I overcome sin? I asked.I didnt know at that time that we are at war. I didnt know what I now know, that it is a multidimensional sin war.With this personal testimony, we begin a new section of our spiritual warfare studies. All we will be studying, however, rests upon thephilosophical-theological foundations laid in prior chapters.Past chapters stressed sins origin in evil supernaturalism. Sin originated in the direct deceptive activity of Satan himself against Gods angels,humanity, and especially the children of God. I did not know it at the time, but that is what was happening to me as a teenaged new believer.We also have seen that sin has its source in the flesh and in the world. Sin arises from any one of these three sources or any combination of thethree at the same time. That is what was happening to me, but I didnt know it.THE HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE OF THE CHURCHHistorically the church has seen the believers sin war from this perspective. The believers warfare with the flesh, the world, and the Devil hasbeen recognized, written about, and preached from the pulpits of our churches for centuries. Why do I give such importance to this almost universallyaccepted fact?First, because it is foundational to what we call sanctification, i.e., the process by which we learn to live as Gods children in this sinful world.Paul writes to the Philippian believers about sanctification:Do all things without grumbling or disputing; that you may prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent children of God above reproach in the midst of acrooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life . . . (Phil. 2:1416a)

Living as the apostle exhorts us is not easy. A kingdom-of-God lifestyle while living in the kingdom of Satan (the world) means spiritual warfare.Many believers become so discouraged (as I did) as they wrestle with the evil within them (the flesh), the evil that seeks to seduce them from without(the world), and the supernatural evil that assaults their minds from above (evil supernaturalism), that they begin to doubt their salvation. I did onoccasion.Sanctification Not SalvationSecond, as was mentioned in our last chapter, it is imperative that believers recognize the sin war in which they are engaged has nothing to dowith salvation, only with sanctification.The diagram on page 101 is an attempt to visualize this fact. At the top of the diagram we see the on-going conflict in the believers mind withdoubts, evil thoughts, desires for independence from a kingdom lifestyle, pride, lusts, materialism, fears, and various temptations. They have nothingto do with salvation. They are sanctification issues. They are in-house matters. They have to do with the child of God and his loving, heavenly Fatherwho knows our every weakness. As the Psalmist wrote so long ago,Just as a father has compassion on his children,So the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him.

For He Himself knows our frame;

He is mindful that we are but dust. (Ps. 103:1314)

Thus my title for the diagram: The Christians Warfare: A Multidimensional Sin Issue Relating to Christian Living.At the bottom of the diagram is a visual representation of the theme of this chapter, indeed, of the entire book. Sin is personal; it comes fromwithin, thus warfare with the flesh. Sin is social; it comes from without, thus warfare with the world. Sin is supernatural; it comes from above, thuswarfare with evil supernaturalism.Third, though the doctrinal fact of this multidimensional sin war is well known, its implications to the believers struggles with sin are usually notdealt with in a systematic and holistic biblical manner. This I am attempting to do in this book.Fourth, this multidimensional sin war is seldom dealt with from the perspective of a biblical world view. I have repeatedly affirmed the spiritualwarfare dimension of a biblical world view. Spiritual warfare provides the all encompassing context in which Gods self-revelation and redemptiveactivity is carried out and our Christian life is lived.Warfare Between the Two KingdomsWhen I refer to spiritual warfare from this world view context I usually mean spiritual warfare in its original, more restricted sense as warfarebetween the kingdom of God and the kingdom of the Devil, not in its broader sense of the multidimensional sin war. We must realize this broaderdimension exists only because spiritual warfare was first born in the cosmic realm.For example, looking at the Genesis story of the pre-Fall lifestyle of our first parents, it is questionable whether or not Adam and Eve would haverebelled against the Word of God without the external deception of the serpent.They were not plagued by the flesh. They were totally innocent of any internal stimulation towards sin. They did not live in the world. They livedin the paradise of God. They were evidently vulnerable only to the external deception to sin coming from above, from the Devil.From the Fall until today, Gods self-revelation and His redemptive activity occur in this spiritual warfare context. In what sense? Spiritualwarfare in its broader or more narrow meaning? Both, but the primary focus must be on the narrower definition of warfare between the twokingdoms. After all, the other two (warfare with the flesh and the world) originated out of the warfare of the kingdom of Satan against the kingdom ofGod. Satans deception gave birth to both the flesh and the world. He murdered the human race through deception (John 8:44; Gen. 2:1517; 3:1f).He established himself as the god, the ruler of this world (John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11; 2 Cor. 4:34).That warfare between the two kingdoms will continue until the eternal destruction of personal supernatural evil in the lake of fire (Rev. 20). Thenand then only will evil be abolished from the experience of the children of God, forever. What a day that will be!THE NEED FOR BALANCESince the words spiritual warfare automatically register in the minds of Christians in the narrower sense of warfare with Satan and his evil spirits,it is easy for us to drift into imbalance at this point. Traditionally, the church has dealt with the believers sin problem primarily from the perspectiveof internal evil, the flesh. Some attention has also been given to the external evil, the world. Satan and his demons have been given some attention;yet since the churchs world view traditionally has been fuzzy about the extent to which demons can partially control believers, this area ofsanctification has not been developed to the extent of the first two, the flesh and the world.We are now witnessing a deluge of literature on warfare with evil supernaturalism, however. The danger now is that we go to the other extreme ofdemonizing all sin in the believers life. Satan and his demons thus become the primary source of humanitys present sin problem to such an extentthat insufficient emphasis is given to the flesh and the world.For these and other reasons it is crucial at this point to look at spiritual warfare as a multidimensional sin war. In future chapters I will examinethe three dimensions separately.Finally, the emphasis of the latter part of the book will be primarily upon the believers warfare with evil supernaturalism, though the flesh andthe world will always be considered. The usual channels of Satans seductions of mankind, including believers, is through the flesh and the world.

WHICH IS WHICH?While it is helpful to see our sin problem from three dimensions, it also is problematic. Sin is too dynamic (in the negative sense) to becompartmentalized. Sin energy is released against humanity from every dimension, continually. Thus, while concentrating on one of sinsdimensions, we must remember the other two are also active in every situation. Since the Fall, sin is multidimensional, never unidimensional.If the stimulation towards sin comes from the flesh, it will immediately be reinforced by the world. Sin energy will also assault us from evilspirits reinforcing the evil arising from the flesh and the world. But if the stimulus towards sin comes from the world, the flesh will immediatelyrespond. At the same time demonic powers will seek to influence our mind, emotions, and will to follow the evil allurements of the world. And if thesin energy bombarding us comes directly from evil supernaturalism, the flesh will favorably respond. The world will reinforce that response. Allthree dimensions are always active at the same time.Often when I counsel Christians, they will express their confusion over this issue: Does my problem come from the flesh, the world, or theDevil? My answer is always, Yes. I then explain that, according to Scripture, the major source of their problem may be one of the three in onesituation and one or both of the other two in different situations. In every case all three dimensions should be dealt with even though the majoremphasis may only be on one of the three levels presently causing the greatest problem.We have already stated that the major sin focus of Scripture is on the flesh. It is interesting to note, however, in Ephesians 2:13 Paul ties mansflesh problem with the multidimensional sin problem we face. He writes,And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air,of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh andof the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. (Eph. 2:12)

The apostle begins with the affirmation that when we were dead in your [our] trespasses and sins (v. 1). Paul next reveals a threefold source ofthis sad spiritual state: the world (v. 2a), the Devil (v. 2b), and the flesh (v. 3a). Again, we fight a multidimensional sin war!SATAN, THE PRIMARY SOURCEUltimately, as the late Donald Grey Barnhouse writes, Satan is the primary source of mans terrible sin problem. He writes of Satans strategy ofseduction with sin. Satan is the author of confusion and lies, he says. He has done one of his most effective bits of mystification in creatingbewilderment even among many Christians, concerning his methods of attack. Barnhouse says they are threefold. We do not know what student ofthe Word of God first coined the phrase, the world, the flesh and the devil, he says. The oldest usage of this triple division of the field of attack isto be found in The Book of Common Prayer in a prayer for an infant, Grant that he may have power and strength to have victory, and to triumph,against the devil, the world and the flesh. 1C. Fred Dickason says the same thing: The demonic use of the flesh and the world is obvious. Satan rules the world system and influences theflesh, his toehold in mens heart, to accomplish his rebellious and destructive purposes.2D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones has written an amazing seven volume study on the Epistle of Paul to the Ephesians.3 In volume 1 he comments on thepower emphasis of Ephesians 1:19. He asks, Why is this power essential?He answers, Because of the power of the forces that are set against us. He continues with a lengthy discussion of the demon sin energy (myterm) released against us directly by Satan and his demons and also indirectly through the world and the flesh.4Of the world he says, Nothing is so dangerous to the soul, because of its subtlety, as the worldliness which meets us on every turn. . . . This issurely the biggest fight the Christian church has to wage at the present hour. . . . But we not only have to fight the world but also the flesh. He then11 1.22 2.33 3.44 4.

lists some of the sins of the flesh. Lloyd-Jones then comments, Then there is the devil. I sometimes think that our failure to realize the greatness ofGods power in us is due to the fact we have never realized the power of the devil. How little do we talk about him; and yet in the New Testament hisactivities are constantly emphasized. . . . the power of the devil is made terribly clear in the story of Adam and Eve. They are both perfect. Man wasmade in the image and likeness of God. . . . He was in Paradisea perfect environment. He had never sinned, and there was nothing within him todrag him downno lust, no corruption. . . . And yet he fell; and he did so because of the power and the subtlety of the devil. He then states thatnothing can enable us to stand against the wiles of the devil but the power of God.In closing this chapter on the believers multidimensional sin war, I refer again to Ray Stedmans excellent book on spiritual warfare. 5 His firstchapter is called The Forces We Face. After reviewing Ephesians 6:1013 he says it is clear that Pauls view of the basic characteristics of life canbe put in one word, struggles. Life, he says, is a conflict, a combat, a continual wrestling. He then affirms that this is confirmed by experience.We would like to think of ourselves as living in an idealistic world, where everything goes right and we can spend our days in relaxation andenjoyment. He affirms, The Apostle Paul is not dealing with that kind of life. He is coming to grips with life as it really is now, and he says life is astruggle, a conflict, a battle against opposing forces.Stedman inquires about the real source behind this warfare life. He identifies the source as demonic (Eph. 6:12). Recognizing the traditionalChristian way of viewing evils source as from the flesh, the world, and the devil, Stedman makes an interesting remark about the relationshipbetween the three. We often hear the idea, The enemies of the Christian are the world, the flesh and the devil, as though these were three equallypowerful enemies. But there are not three. There is only one enemy, the devil, as Paul brings out in Ephesians 6. But the channels of his indirectapproach to men are through the world and the flesh.6To some this may seem like an exaggeration. Yet, is it? The author admits the role of both the flesh and the world in our battle with sin. Yet healso affirms that the one true enemy is the devil who uses the flesh and the world.This is totally consistent with the cosmic origin of sin itself and the satanic origin of human sin (Gen. 3:1f). It is also consistent with thebelievers daily war with sin (1 Cor. 7:5; 1 Thess. 3:5)Neil Anderson says something similar when he writes that Satan is at the heart of all sin (1 John 3:8). He deceives people into believing a lie andcounsels them to rebel against God.7He usually does so, of course, through the flesh and the world. With this background we will look at each dimension of sin separately while stillrecognizing their interrelationship. We will begin with the believers warfare with the flesh.

Psychologist Rodger K. Bufford in his excellent book, Counseling and the Demonic recognizes that the sins of the flesh provide an avenue intodemonic influence.1 The following case study illustrates that fact.Sins of the Flesh: Doorways to the DemonicI was new in spiritual warfare counseling when the following incident occurred. As often happens when we discover a new dimension of spiritualreality, we tend to go overboard. We see everything through the lens of that newly discovered reality. This has probably occurred with most of us whohave undergone a major paradigm shift in reference to the demonic dimensions of spiritual warfare counseling and ministry. It did with me.A woman came to see me. She was under the care of a Christian psychologist. He was not making much progress towards her healing. Notwanting to interfere with the counseling being given, I asked her psychologist if he would agree that I counsel her from a spiritual warfareperspective and let him continue with his regular counseling procedures. He agreed.I was doing all my spiritual warfare counseling with a small team. One of the most effective co-workers I had was Tom, a young man who hadbeen one of the most severely demonized persons I had ever ministered to in the past.Tom and I, with another helper, spent several hours with the troubled woman but made no progress. We were not even sure she was demonized. Itried my usual proven methodology of making contact with any demons which might be present, but to no avail.We arranged for another counseling session a few days later. I was not able to be present because of other responsibilities. Tom and other teammembers ministered to her.They began to probe into her background and discovered she was raised in a dysfunctional family. She had experienced terrible conflict with hermother, brothers, and sisters. It soon became evident she was filled with bitterness, even deep hatred, for all of them, especially her mother.The team soon realized that regardless of what demonic activity might be attached to her life, her primary problem was the flesh. Filledwith anger, pride, bitterness, and lack of forgiveness, she refused even to consider the possibility that her attitude towards her mother wassinful.She refused outright to obey the Word of God in James 4:13 From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence,even of your lusts that war in your members? (2) Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: yefight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. (3) Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume itupon your lusts.

and James 3:1416. But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. (15) Thiswisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. (16) For where envying and strife is, there is confusionand every evil work.The team finally had to tell her that if she was not willing to humble herself before God and at least be willing to learn to forgive, even thoughshe could not emotionally feel a desire to do so at the present, they could not help her. She got up and left, saying she was not coming back.Dr. Murphy, Tom said, We cannot expect any demons which may be attached to her life to leave her when they have every right to bethere.I learned an important lesson from my junior partner that day. Our failure to be able to help that bitter woman helped me get back to a morebiblical balance.For the purpose of emphasis and analysis (theology) it is helpful to examine separately the role of the flesh, the world, and the Devil. Yet we mustremember that the Bible does not make such sharp distinctions. It simply teaches us that spiritual warfare is being waged against the totality of our11 1. Rodger K. Bufford, Counseling and the Demonic (Dallas, Texas: Word, 1988), 143.

humanity, both as individuals and as members of social groups, and we are to learn to be faithful and victorious soldiers of the kingdom of Godagainst the kingdom of evil.Bufford makes some interesting comments about the sin war faced by all believers, the interrelationship between the flesh, the world, and theDevil, and how the flesh can open a life to demonic influence. After warning us that living for the things of this world, sex, power, wealth, status,fame, influence and popularity can lead to potential demonization, he says that central to all sin is a failure to love God fully and to submit ourselves toHis divine will and guidance for our lives. To fail to submit is to side with Satan in adopting the view that we know better than God, and hence will decide forourselves how to live our lives. Choosing Satans side in the cosmic struggle between good and evil places us at risk of coming under the control of his demonicagents.2

Satan is always involved in sin. So are demons. Where sin flows, demons flow. They thrive on sin. It is their very life. They are sin personified.In this and the following chapters we are going to concentrate primarily on warfare with the flesh, however. Yet sin is so deceitful, demonicdeception often so complete, and the evil emanating from the world so overpowering, that the three cannot really be compartmentalized as I am doinghere. I do so only for the purpose of emphasis and analysis.

WHAT IS THE FLESH?

The word flesh is used in both the Old and New Testaments. Yet the New Testament usage has greater theological significance and represents amore detailed development in Gods explanation of humanitys sin problem than we find in the Old Testament. It is all there in the Old Testament, butin the New it is explained in more detail. Writing on the use of the word flesh in the Old Testament, R. K. Harrison says:3The Old Testament theology of human personality . . . is of a dynamic order which emphasizes the psycho-physical unity of human nature. Although this fleshwas regarded in the Old Testament as generally weak, there is no single element in Hebrew thought which corresponds to the New Testament view of the flesh asthe central principle of fallen humanity. While the flesh for the Hebrews was frail, it was not regarded as sinful.

In the same volume, W. A. Elwell writes on the use of the word flesh in the New Testament.4There are three basic ways in which the word sarx (flesh) is used in the New Testament. At one extreme are those places where no negative moral judgment isimplied and the word flesh bears no negative connotation at all. At the other extreme are those places where a negative moral judgment is made and sarx becomesdescriptive of mans baser nature or is defined as being simply sinful. Bridging the two extremes is a set of uses where sarx is not sinful per se, but tends in thatdirection.

William Vine lists 13 different usages of sarx, all of which would fit under Elwells threefold classification.5 For an almost exhaustive historical

study of the word sarx (flesh), nothing surpasses the work of Eduard Schweizer in Kittels Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (TDNT). He

presents the use of the word during six historical periods. For one who wants an in-depth, complex study his work is exceptional.6 Schweizers studyof the varied uses of the word flesh in the New Testament agrees with Elwells views. So we cite Elwells briefer comments:7The flesh becomes the baser side of man defining either the impulse to sin itself or at least the seat of it (Rom. 7:18,25; 8:5b,1213; Gal. 5:17,19; 6:8; 1 Peter 3:21;2 Peter 2:10,18; 1 John 2:16. . . . An extension of this correlation of sin and flesh is seen where sarx is sin (Jude 23), or where by extension the word fleshlybecomes an adjective meaning sinful, and qualifies other ideas. Hence one may have a fleshly body (Col. 2:11) or a fleshly mind (Rom. 8:7; Col. 2:18). . . . In thisconnection it is significant that Paul nowhere says the flesh will be resurrected; for him it is the body that will be raised to newness of life (see, e.g., 1 Cor. 15:44).This is because sarx connoted sin to Paul and the word body was a more neutral term. The flesh, mans fallen nature, will not be raised again. . . . It must beremembered that the mind may generate desires that are sinful too (Eph. 2:3), and that there is uncleanness of the spirit, as well as of the flesh. (1 Cor. 7:1)

Ray Stedman defines the flesh used in a morally negative sense as the urge to self-centeredness within us, that distortion of human nature whichmakes us want to be our own godthat proud ego, that uncrucified self which is the seat of willful defiance and rebellion against authority.8My own definition of the flesh is our defective humanness inclined towards self-centeredness, with its center in our sinful bodies which includesour mind, emotions and will.THE FLESH AND THE SIN NATUREThe flesh with which we daily battle is not the same as the old self which once controlled our life but is now permanently crucified with Christ(Gal. 2:20). Before coming to Christ our life was dominated by our sinful nature inherited from Adam. We were separated from God and spirituallydead. This was the old man or old self.Jesus took our old man-self with him to the Cross. It died with him there. The apostle Paul affirms, Knowing this, that our old self was crucifiedwith Him . . . (Rom. 6:6). Paul could thus exhort the Colossians, Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For youhave died and your life is hidden with Christ in God (Col. 3:23).The old self is dead. As believers we have a new self that results from the life of Christ who lives in us (Rom. 6:58; 8:9; 2 Cor. 4:711; Gal.2:20; Col. 1:27; 3:14). This helps explain why the apostle John is so emphatic that true believers are no longer slaves to sin. We, as believers, nolonger practice sin. Why not? Because we are born of God (1 John 3:419).To be of God (1 John 5:19) and to be born of God (1 John 5:18) means that our new nature comes from God. Gods nature abides in us. Hisseed abides in [us]; and [we] cannot sin [practice sin, vv. 78], because [we are] born of God (1 John 3:9).The apostle Peter tells us that through faith in Gods promise of salvation in His Son we are partakers of the divine nature, having escaped thecorruption that is in the world by lust (2 Pet. 1:4b). The apostle Paul, besides teaching this truth in his epistles, gives his own personal testimony: Ihave been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith inthe Son of God, who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me (Gal. 2:20).

66 6. Eduard Schweizer in Kittels TDNT (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1977) 7:98151. Schweizer surveys the use of sarx in theGreek world, in the Old Testament, in Judaism, which includes its use in the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Targums, the Talmud andMidrash, the Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha, Philo and Josephus. In the New Testament he explores the use of sarx in theSynoptic Gospels and Acts; in Paul; in Colossians, Ephesians and the Pastoral Epistles; in John; in Hebrews; in TheCatholic Epistles and a study of the adjectives sarkinos and sarkikos. He continues with a nine-page summary of the use of sarx inthe Post-New Testament Period, the Apocryphal Acts, the Apologists, and finally in Gnosticism.77 7. Elwell, 549.88 8. Stedman, Spiritual Warfare (Portland, Ore.: Multnomah, 1975), 48.

The old I (the old self, the natural man) was crucified with Christ, Paul says. A new I has taken its place. That I is Christ who now lives inme. Because Christ lives in me in the person of the Holy Spirit, God lives in me in the person of His Son and the Holy Spirit (John 17:2123; 14:1618; Rom. 8:117; 2 Cor. 13:5; Gal. 2:20; 4:6; Eph. 2:1922; Col. 1:27; 2:612). Therefore I am no longer a slave to sin. My new nature naturallyresponds to God.9As a believer I no longer walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit (Rom. 8:4). I am no longer in the flesh but in the Spirit becausethe Spirit of God, the Spirit of Christ dwells in me (Rom. 8:9).10 This is true even if I am not aware of it. That is why Paul says that when Ibecome aware of who I am in Christ, I am to accept the fact that I am dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus (Rom. 6:1). All this is true becauseof the redemptive work of Christ on my behalf.Does this mean that the sin problem is solved for the true believer? Can we no longer sin nor not be tempted to sin? Of course not. This would becontrary to both Scripture and Christian experience. As a child of God I still live in an unredeemed body. Though the Lord Jesus has purchased mynew body with His blood, I do not have it as yet. It will not be mine until the Resurrection at His glorious second coming (Phil. 3:2021; Rom. 8:1825).Until then, as long as I live on this earth, I live in a body which Paul describes as the body of sin (Rom. 6:6); the body of this death (Rom.7:24); a mortal body (Rom. 8:11). He says I am to learn how, by the Spirit, to put to death the sinful deeds of the body (Rom. 8:13).So my sin problem continues as long as I am in this world in this body. But the apostle Paul informs us that we are now able to put to death thedeeds of the flesh since our old self in Adam was crucified with Christ (Rom. 6:123). We can receive as ours Pauls exhortation to believers atRome:Do not let sin reign in your mortal body that you should obey its lusts, and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments ofunrighteousness; but present yourself to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. (Rom. 6:1213)

When Paul speaks of the members of my body he obviously means more than my material body. He means my mind, my imagination, myemotions, my will, and my physical body. God wants all of me yielded to Him to do His will in my life (Rom. 6:1223; 12:12). Since I live in mybody, if God truly has my body, He has all of me.Until the bondage to the flesh is broken, however, effective deliverance is not possible for demonized believers. Where it does occur, it will notusually be lasting. The expulsion of one group of evil spirits from a human life will usually lead to the entry of another group if the sin in the life towhich the former demonic spirits had attached themselves is not removed. The believer must begin to put to death the works of the flesh to becomevictorious in the sin war which involves him. If not, he will soon become a war casualty.

15Walking in the SpiritGalatians 5OLD SELF, NEW SELF, AND THE FLESHHow is it possible that the flesh still has such a strong pull on the believers life? How can the Holy Spirit cohabit the same body with the unholyflesh? We have already seen the Scriptures teach that the true believer is no longer in the flesh but in the Spirit (Rom. 8:19). How then does the flesh99 9. Neil T. Anderson, The Bondage Breaker (Eugene, Ore.: Harvest House, 1990a) 6985; David C. Needham, Birthright (Portland,Ore.: Multnomah, 1982), 3986, 239272.1010 10. See Romans 68; 2 Corinthians 25; Ephesians 2:122; Colossians 23.

continue to operate in the believers life alongside the Spirit? This is just as much an apparent contradiction as the cohabitation of the Spirit with ademon in the believers body.1 How can all this be possible? Lloyd-Jones suggests thatMy old self, that self that was in Adam, was an utter slave to sin. That self has gone, I have a new self, I am a new man. . . . I am not doing this or that, it is this sinthat remains in my members that does so. Sin is no longer in me [in my new self in Christ], it is in my members only. This is the most liberating thing you haveever heard.2

This sin that remains in my members, to use Lloyd-Jones term, is called the flesh by the apostle Paul in Galatians 5:1624. Neil Anderson,writing on the believers warfare with this flesh, agrees. He says,The flesh is the tendency within each person to operate independent of God and to center his interests on himself. An unsaved person functions totally in the flesh(Rom. 8:78), worshiping and serving the creature more than the Creator (Rom. 1:25). . . . When you were born again, your old self died and your new self cameto life. . . . [but] during the years you spent separated from God, your worldly experiences thoroughly programmed your brain with thought patterns, memorytraces, responses and habits which are alien to God. So even though your old skipper is gone, your flesh remains in opposition to God as a preprogrammedpropensity for sin, which is living independent of God. 3

Who cannot identify with Andersons words? I certainly can. Growing up in a home disturbed by alcohol, I developed a poor self-image. BecauseI did not receive adequate dental care, two extra teeth grew in behind my front teeth, forcing the two outer teeth forward. While not buck-toothed,as the expression was used in those days, I saw myself that way. So I thought I was ugly.I was an outdoor person, not a student. Since my mom was preoccupied with just keeping the family together, she had no time to correct mycareless study habits. My more studious brother received almost straight As; I got by on Cs and Ds with an occasional B thrown in. So Ifelt I was dumb.When I committed my life to the lordship of Christ at 19 years of age, the Holy Spirit immediately called me into missionary work.4 That meantcollege and seminary. I was terrified at the prospect of having to study in a context in which I could not get by with my no-study bluff. Alreadypreprogrammed into thinking I was too dumb to succeed as a student, I went to Biola University only because God told me to go. At Biola I began tolearn of the Christian life. God used the writing of L. E. Maxwell and Hudson Taylor to begin my freedom from the bondage of my failurepreprogramming.As I learned that Christ was my life, I began to have hope. As I learned to deny the flesh with its thought patterns, memory traces, responses, andhabits which were alien to God, I began to change. I graduated magna cum laude. I found out I was not dumb. All I had to do was rest in Christ andwork like a trouper.The apostle Paul uses the word flesh (sarx) seventeen times in Galatians, perhaps his heaviest concentration of uses for such a small book. Hisuses cover all of the three New Testament uses of sarx previously described by Elwell.5Galatians: Grace, Faith, and the Spirit11 1. For those who object saying that the flesh is not a person like a spirit, what difference does that make? It is a question of atotally evil part of the believers being cohabiting with the Holy Spirit that is the issue. The human flesh, which is so bad it istotally unredeemable, is no better than a demon which is also totally unredeemable. Jesus said the worst evils come out of theheart of men (Matt. 15:19). Yet the Holy Spirit lives in that potentially evil heart which is only progressively being sanctified.Deliverance counseling reveals, in full harmony with Scripture, that the Holy Spirit wars against indwelling demons just as Hedoes with the indwelling flesh.22 2. D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Exposition of Ephesians (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker, 1987) 1:74.33 3. Neil T. Anderson, The Bondage Breaker (Eugene, Ore.: Harvest House, 1990a), 7980.44 4. See Dick Hillis, Not Made For Quitting (Minneapolis, Minn.: Dimension Books, Bethany Fellowship, 1973).

In his epistle to the Galatians, the apostle stresses that the Christian life is entered into only by grace through faith apart from the deeds of the law(Gal. 1:62:21; 3:64:31). It is lived only in the Holy Spirit, who is received by faith, again not by the works of the law or any other activityassociated with the flesh (Gal. 3:15; 5:16:18).In Galatians an intimate connection exists between grace, faith, and the Holy Spirit for both regeneration and sanctification as against the worksof the law and of the flesh. Paul first speaks of the Spirit who is always associated with grace and faith in 3:15,1314. Both regeneration andsanctification are in view.You foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified? This is the only thing I want to find out fromyou: did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected bythe flesh? Did you suffer so many things in vainif indeed it was in vain? Does He then, who provides you with the Spirit and works miracles among you, do itby the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for usfor it is written, Cursed is everyone who hangs on a treein order that in ChristJesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

We receive the Spirit by faith, not by the works of the law or any other activity of the flesh. He works in us and among us also through faith, notthrough any meritorious religious performance on our part. We begin our Christian life by faith in the Spirit who regenerates us, and live ourChristian life in the Spirit who sanctifies us.Galatians 5: Liberty Through the Spirit, By FaithThe believer enjoys not only freedom from the law as a means of salvation and sanctification, but freedom from the bondage of the flesh in anyarea of life. This theme of the believers freedom is first mentioned by Paul in 5:1:It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.

In an old but inspiring study on Galatians by Norman B. Harrison called His Side Versus Our Side, Harrison writes:6The Christian, born of God, is Gods free-born man. He is His son, His heir; all that God has is his. . . . He has already blessed us with all spiritual blessings inChrist (Eph. 1:3). These blessings include His unqualified favor, justified from all things, the bestowal of His life, the gift of His Spirit, access to His presencein prayereverything to be desired.Christian liberty is a life so lived that these provisions of grace continue to operate. Saved by grace initially, we must be kept by grace continually. Life impartedby grace must be sustained by grace. Justified by grace (Rom. 3:24), we must be sanctified by grace. Standing in grace (Rom. 5:2), we must walk in grace. Wemust be taught, trained and disciplined by grace (Titus 2:1114).We are to grow in grace (2 Peter 3:18). We are to experience the riches of His grace (Eph. 1:7), not only now but eternally (Eph. 2:7). In the severest trial His graceproves itself sufficient for us (2 Cor. 12:9), and as we humble ourselves He keeps adding more grace (James 4:6). He calls Himself the God of all grace (1 Peter5:10), able to make all grace abound toward us, that we may always have all sufficiency for all things (2 Cor. 9:8).It is evident that God has a thorough-going program of grace. Grace set us free; grace sustains us in a continuous experience of freedom. This is Christian liberty,staying on His Side, in His favor, where His feeing grace continuously operates. In this freedom we are to stand fast at all costs.

55 5. See W. A. Elwell in Merrill C. Tenney, ed., ZPEB (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 1977), 2:548549. He says Paul uses sarxfour times where no negative moral judgment is implied and the word bears no connotation of evil at all (Gal. 1:16; 2:16; 3:1314); eight times where a negative moral judgment is made; sarx becomes descriptive of mans baser nature or is defined as beingsimply evil (Gal. 5:13,16,17 [twice]; 19, 24; 6:8 [twice]; five times where sarx is not sinful per se, but tends in that direction(Gal. 3:3; 4:23,29; 6:1213).66 6. Norman B. Harrison, His Side Versus Our Side (Minneapolis, Minn.: The Harrison Service, 3112 Hennepin Avenue, 1940), 8384.

Perhaps the various works of the Spirit who indwells each believer are all summed up in one expression in Galatians 5:5. It is through the Spirit .. . by faith that we live our Christian life. We do so waiting for the coming day of the King of Glory when the knowledge of the Lord will cover theearth as the waters cover the sea (Isa. 11:9). What a day that will be!Galatians 5:1625Before beginning his contrast in Galatians 5:1625 between the works of the Spirit and those of the flesh, Paul sounds a warning in verse 13: Donot turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.Richard Longenecker in his superb commentary on Galatians says the word opportunity for the flesh means a starting point, a base ofoperations and a pretext or occasion.7Longenecker makes two excellent comments about the Spirit and the flesh which will prepare us for our study of 5:1625. First he says thatsince the Spirit and the flesh are juxtaposed throughout the exhortations of 5:136:10, we may assume that just as Paul thought of the one aspersonal so he meant the other to be taken as at least semi-personified.8What Is the Flesh?Second, he comments on the meaning of sarx, the flesh, by saying that before Galatians 5:136:10, Paul used sarx mainly to refer to the merelyhuman or purely physical. In this passage, however, sarx is defined ethically, and used in this way refers to humanitys fallen, corrupt, or sinfulnature as distinguished from human nature as originally created by God.9To discourage ideas of anthropological dualism10 that may arise from translating sarx as flesh in ethical contexts, various translators haveinterpreted sarx in a number of descriptive renderings.11

So there have appeared such translations as physical nature ( AMUVT), human nature/natural desires/physical desire (GNB), lower nature (NEB), corruptnature (KNOX), and sinful nature (NIV)or more freely, self-indulgence (JB). . . . Probably the best of the interpretive translations are those that add theadjective corrupt or sinful to the noun nature (i.e., KNOX, NIV), thereby suggesting an essential aspect of mankinds present human condition that is inopposition to the Spirit and yet avoiding the idea that the human body is evil per se.

In conclusion to his discussion of this passage, Longenecker observes that the Christian may choose to use his or her freedom in Christ either asan opportunity for the flesh or in response to the Spirit. 12William Barclay aptly expresses the idea of sarx used in the ethical sense:13The flesh is man as he has allowed himself to become in contrast with man as God meant him to be. The flesh stands for the total effect upon man of his own sinand of the sin of his fathers and of the sin of all men who have gone before him. . . . The flesh stands for human nature weakened, vitiated, tainted by sin. The fleshis man as he is apart from Jesus Christ and his Spirit.

All we have studied to this point is crucial to understanding Pauls description of the believers warfare with the flesh which begins in Galatians5:16. In that verse the apostle gives a command followed by a promise.THE FLESH VS. THE SPIRITBut I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.

The command is walk by the Spirit.

While it certainly is connected to what was said before (vv. 1315), the exhortation to brotherly love, it also introduces what follows after. Verse15 probably implies that the Galatians were deeply divided as a church. Indeed the nature of the epistle reveals a church split by the legalizers,probably Jewish Christians zealous for the Mosaic Law. Tensions must have been deep within the body of believers even as they are in so manychurches today. Therefore, Paul tells them how to experience the brotherly love God wants to exist among them. It comes, he says, by walking in theSpirit.The Key Process: Walking in the SpiritIn reference to what follows, that is, the warfare between the flesh and the Spirit, Paul lays before them the same single secret to victory in thatwarfare: walk in the Spirit.Longenecker says:14The word translated walk, peripateo (go about, walk around) appears frequently in Pauls letters and occasionally in the Johannine letters in the figurative sense oflive or conduct . . . the figurative use of peripateo stems from the Hebrew (halak), which is the repeatedly used term in the Old Testament for walk orconduct ones life. . . . The present tense of the imperative peripateite, which denotes an exhortation to action in progress, implies that the Galatians were tocontinue doing what they were already doing, that is, experiencing the presence of the Spirits working in their lives (cf. 3:35) and living by faith (cf. 5:5).

The way to victory over the flesh is thus a process, living, walking, being led by the Spirit. The emphasis is on process, not crisis.What About Crisis Experiences?This is an important word for our day when so much emphasis is placed on a crisis experience or experiences with the Spirit as the door tosanctification, power in the Christians life, and a unique level of Christian living out of which will flow all the other blessings promised to thebeliever. Certainly crisis experiences with the Spirit do and should occur. There are times when He falls upon believers both as individuals andgroups. He comes with healing in His wings. He visits His people leading to revival periods in which more is done for the kingdom of God inweeks and months than in previous decades.We should all long for such visitations by God the Spirit. I do. We live in a dangerous hour, but also one of unparalleled opportunity to fulfill theredemptive mandate of taking the gospel to all the people groups on earth (Matt. 28:1820). We will probably not complete the task without suchdivine visitations on a worldwide scale. In some places and churches it has already begun.Genuine crisis experiences with the Holy Spirit are multiplying, especially in the Two-thirds World. In my overseas ministry with Christianleaders, I am continually humbled by the manifold gifts of the Spirit and experiences with the Spirit that God is giving to humble believers who readit in His Word, claim His promises by faith, and launch out in obedience to His commands.One of my greatest concerns, however, is with an overemphasis on crisis experiences with the Spirit, leading from one spiritual high to another.Believers come together looking for these experiences. Emotions are often unrestrained, fired up by platform leaders who exploit the desires of thepeople for dramatic experiences with God that appeal to their emotional needs.God is going to visit us in an unusual way today, my brothers and sisters. (If the unusual happens in every meeting then it is no longer unusual!)Lets raise our hands and voices to God! Lets all pray together that the Spirit will come upon us, that the slain of the Lord will multiply in ourmidst.1414 14. Longenecker, 244245.

I have no problem either biblically, historically, or in contemporary Christian experience with a true visitation of the Holy Spirit which sooverwhelms his people that they may enter into an almost trance-like state for a brief period of time. After all, it happened to Peter on the housetop inJoppa (Acts 9:9f; 11:5). It also has happened in most great visitations of the Spirit throughout church history. It has also happened to me.15Crisis Experiences Cannot Be a GoalBut when this occurrence becomes a goal for our church meetings, we are in trouble. When this is sought and promises are made that theexperience in itself will lead one to a higher level of Christian living for the future, I object. This is not what the Scriptures teach. Paul did not say,Be baptized with or slain in the Spirit and you will not fulfill the lusts of the Spirit. He said, Walk, live, be led by the Spirit and you will not fulfillthe lusts of the flesh.This is more process than crisis. The day-by-day, moment-by-moment life of faith in the indwelling presence of the Spirit, continual communionwith and obedience to the indwelling Spiritthis is the secret of the normal Christian life. This alone brings the results God wants in our life. This iswhat the Holy Spirit Himself commands and promises through His apostle, Walk in the Spirit [the command] and you will not fulfill the lusts of theflesh [the promised result] (v. 16 NKJV). When crisis experiences are exalted at the expense of the daily process of walking in the Spirit, the flesh canand will still control.A few years ago I was ministering for a month in Argentina, South America. One Sunday morning I was asked by a pastor to share the pulpit withan Argentinian leader deeply involved in the revival and spiritual awakening. Since the church was in the midst of an evangelistic outreach to its city,I spoke on evangelism.The Argentinian brother who followed me spoke on the ministry of the Holy Spirit. His message was disturbing because he used an OldTestament passage totally out of context and took great liberties in making the passage say what he wanted it to say, violating what the passage wasmeant to say. It soon became evident that his goal was to lead the congregation into seeking a particular manifestation of the Spirit in their midst.When the message was over he began to work up the people, saying God was going to slay them in the Spirit. He had them stand. Those whowanted God to bless them were to come forward, he would lay hands on them, and the Spirit would come. More than half of the 300 or so peoplepresent came forward. At the touch of his hands, down they went.After the meeting had finished, the church pastor and I had lunch together. Being a guest, I said nothing about what had occurred during themorning service. The church was known to be open to all of the operations of the Spirit, so I assumed what had occurred was fully acceptable to mypastor brother. It was not my place to comment on an area of spiritual experience which is a point of deep controversy among believers worldwide.Besides, the operations of the Spirit must be judged from within, not from without. There is a given set of socio-cultural-spiritual factors which formthe true context in which God the Holy Spirit always operates, and outsiders are not usually qualified to judge what is occurring in unusual moves ofthe Spirit.However, in the middle of lunch the pastor said, I am not happy with the brothers ministry during this mornings service. I intend to tell him sowhen I am alone with him.Why? I asked. Dont you believe in the validity of the Holy Spirits coming upon His people, producing the type of phenomena whichoccurred this morning?Yes, I do. The Holy Spirit is God. When He directly touches you, you can be overcome by His presence, just as we see in Scripture and churchhistory. But we have passed the phase as a church when we need dramatic experiences with the Holy Spirit to reinforce our faith.Please explain to me what you mean, I asked.I believe when we are beginning to allow the Holy Spirit to do anything He wants with us as a church, God will often manifest Himself in adramatic, visible manner. It is as if God is reaching out to us and giving us a hug to encourage us. He is saying, I love you. I am here. Now walk in1515 15. See John White, When the Spirit Comes in Power (Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity, 1988).

the obedience of faith.

A Fleshly Craving for the Spirit?We went through that period. What happened to us is what too often happens in our churches. God manifests the presence of the Spirit in thisfelt way. Selfish as we are, we begin to expect it to be repeated at the demand of our people. They come to meetings seeking this or that particularmanifestation of the Spirit. If it doesnt happen they become discouraged. They feel that any meeting where dramatic power demonstrations do notoccur are inferior to the meetings where they do occur.The result, in our case, was that we began to walk by sight, not by faith. The Lord spoke to us as leaders and told us to teach His people a life offaith and obedience and not become fixed upon any particular experience of His presence. What occurred today was a step backwards for us as achurch.For this pastor the issue was not whether or not power demonstrations of the Spirit were welcomed; rather, the issue was what meaning wasattached to such manifestations. Ironically, the craving for this or that manifestation of the Spirit can be fleshly, and it always is when crisisexperiences are sought, but the process of walking in the Spirit is ignored.Walking in the Spirit Is the GoalWriting about the exhortation, walk in the Spirit, Longenecker says:16Behind the individual believer Paul sees two ethical forces that seek to control a persons thought and activity; the one, the personal Spirit of God; the other, thepersonified flesh. What, in such an ethical dilemma, does the Christian do? The promise of the Gospel, as Paul proclaims it, is that life in the Spirit negates lifecontrolled by the flesh. In fact, that promise is stated emphatically by the use of the double negative ou me (no never) with the aorist subjunctive telesate.

Thus Galatians 5:16 may be translated in part, Walk in the Spirit, and by no means will you perform the desires of the flesh. In the verse thatfollows (v. 17), the apostle addresses at least five issues related to the command and the promise of verse 16:1. The rationale behind his dualism of the flesh and the Spirit: They are at war with each other within the life of the believer.2. This warfare between the flesh and the Spirit is unceasing. Neither peace nor compromise is possible between the two.3. The flesh is personified just as the Holy Spirit is a person. The flesh is pictured as having a life of its own, including mind, emotions, and awill. As such it engages in fierce warfare, struggling to overcome the Holy Spirit.174. The goal of each is the issue of control over the believers life. The Spirit wars against the flesh to nullify its controlling power of evil in theChristian life. The flesh wars against the Spirit to nullify His holy control of the believers life.5. The battleground is found within the believer. His heart, his innermost being, is the battlefield on which the war is being fought.1616 16. Longenecker, 245.1717 17. With the personification of the flesh dwelling and warring within the believer, Pauls personification of the unholy,unredeemable flesh cohabiting the believers body with the Holy Spirit is just as difficult to comprehend as an unredeemableunholy spirit dwelling with the Holy Spirit within the same body, as already mentioned. The Holy Spirit is not afraid of the demon,is He? He is certainly not contaminated by dwelling spatially with a demon, is He? Here again we face a world view problem,spatiality. God exists in His own universe which is saturated with demons. He allows Satan to come before His holy throneevidently daily (if daily fits when talking about God) and lie and accuse us. That doesnt bother God at all. I am certain itbothers Satan more than it bothers God. Demons dwelling within believers are much more uncomfortable with the presence ofthe Holy Spirit than He is with them. In deliverance ministries with believers the demons continually complain of His presence andwarfare against them. Why does He not immediately expel them when He enters a human body where they are present? For thesame reason He does not expel them from the same universe in which He and they are present. We dont know because God hasnot told us (Deut. 29:29; Ps. 139:6; Rom. 11:3236).

This verse sums up the major problem of humanity from the Pauline perspective. Longenecker calls verse 17 a summary statement of Paulsbasic soteriological anthropology, which underlies not only what he said in v. 16 but also his whole understanding of humanity before God since sinentered the world 18 (cf. Rom. 5:12).Barclays free-flowing translation of verse 17 is excellent:19For the desires of the lower side ofHuman nature are the very reverse ofThe desires of the Spirit, and the desiresOf the Spirit are the very reverse of thoseOf the lower side of human nature,For these are fundamentally opposed to each otherSo that you cannot do whatever you like.

Some may object to the use of the word dualism for what the apostle is describing here. The word is appropriate, however, if we understand it is amodified dualism. It did not begin this way at mans creation and it will not end this way at mans glorification. Besides, it is an ethical dualism, notcosmological or anthropological.Before describing the fruit produced by the flesh (vv. 1921) and those by the Spirit (vv. 2223), Paul sums up in verse 18 what he has beenteaching. He does so in the context of the subversive efforts of the Judaizers to move believers away from the life in the Spirit to bondage to legalism.They had begun to live the Christian life by faith through the Spirit (3:15) and had been running well (5:7). They had then become sidetracked, however, into living by a set of legalistic standards. All they had to do was return to the Spirit-led life and he would remove the yoke of thelaw the Judaizers had placed upon their necks (v. 18).Matthew Henry has the apostle Paul saying thatIf, in the prevailing bent and tenour of your life, you be led of the Spiritif you act under the guidance and government of the Holy Spirit and of that spiritualnature and disposition He has wrought in youif you make the Word of God your rule and the grace of God your principleit will hence appear that you are notunder the law, not under the condemning, though you are still under the commanding, power of it. . . . 20

I close this chapter repeating the words of the apostle in 5:13,16,18 in the Amplified New Testament:For you, brethren, were (indeed) calledTo freedom; only (do not let your) freedom beAn incentive to your flesh and an opportunityOr excuse (for selfishness), but throughLove you should serve one another. . . . ButI say, walk and live habitually in the(Holy) Spiritresponsive to andControlled and guided by theSpirit; then you will certainly not gratifyThe cravings and desires of the fleshOf human nature without God. . . . But ifYou are guided (led) by the (Holy) SpiritYou are not subject to the law.

1818 18. Longenecker, 245.

16Moral SinsGalatians 5I was conducting a training seminar on Spiritual Warfare and Church Growth in Asia. During one of the sessions a young, Christian leader went intodemonic manifestation. Since the man was otherwise a godly Christian leader, he was able to control the demons until the meeting was over.My practice is never to deal with serious demonic problems with Christians in public if I can avoid doing so. Occasionally, demons come intomanifestation in public, and some type of initial encounter may have to occur to bring the rebellious spirits under control. Since the man was a strongChristian and the demons fairly easy to control, I took him to a private building for prayer and ministry.Several strong sexual demons had attached themselves to his life. While I do not usually use direct power encounter in dealing with demonsattached to a Christians life, I allowed it to happen in this case because I had to fly out of the country by dawn the next day and it was already late.After certain sexual demons had revealed themselves, I forced them to retreat to the stomach of their victim so he had full control of his faculties.I then began a hurried process of pre-deliverance counseling, encouraging the brother to honestly tell me about his sexual activities from hischildhood to the present.Following the principle expressed by the apostle Paul in Ephesians 4:27b, Do not give the devil a foothold (NIV), I knew the activity of the evilspirits binding his life would continue until he recognized, confessed, and rejected the sins in his life that had provided the demonic footholds, what Icall sin handles.Over the next few hours a sordid story of sexual bondage from childhood to the present unfolded. His greatest bondage at the moment was topornography. Two of the ruling demons attached to his life called themselves Lust and Pornography. They had been around a long time but hadgained stronger footholds in his life over the past few years through his weekly use of rented pornographic videos. So gross was the demonic activityin his life he would sometimes growl like an animal during sexual relationships with his wife. Worst of all, he had forced her to watch the videos withhim to increase their sexual passions.At first the videos revolted his lovely, godly wife. Fearful of losing her husbands love, however, she eventually accepted his demand that theyview the videos together. In time neither she nor her husband could become sexually aroused by one another without the use of the videos.Galatians 5:1921: Four Sin GroupsPaul deals with bondage to sexual sins in Galatians 5. We will first examine the Pauline list of fifteen deeds of the flesh in Galatians 5:1921.While they are classified different ways by different commentators,1 I believe they fall into four primary groups.First listed are moral sins, verse 19b. There are three, immorality, impurity, sensuality. The King James Version lists four. Moicheria (adultery)is added to verse 19 alongside of porneia, literally fornication, but more functionally translated immorality. This probably was the work of ascribe who added moicheria.2 It is not found in the oldest and best manuscripts.1Murphy, Edward F.: Handbook for Spiritual Warfare. Nashville : Thomas Nelson, 1997, c1996, S. 7511 1. Thomas Ice and Robert Dean, Jr., A Holy Rebellion (Eugene, Ore.: Harvest House, 1990), 8184.22 2. This is the opinion of many critical commentators. This addition is not at all necessary as porneia is often used in Scripture forall kinds of illicit sexual relations. In Matthew 5:32 and 19:9 and similar passages it would include adultery, not just fornication

Next the apostle lists two religious sins, idolatry and sorcery.Third, Paul enumerates eight social sins, beginning with enmities in verse 20 and ending with envyings in verse 21. I call them social sinsbecause they are sins committed against others, as well as against God.Finally, Paul lists two sins of intemperance or lack of self control: drunkenness and carousings. The latter word is variously translated:carousing (NAS), revellings (KJV), orgies (NEB). The idea is that of a group out of control, usually under the influence of alcohol, drugs, sex, oreven group religious cultic demonic rites or ceremonies.Pauls list of the deeds of the flesh in this passage is not meant to be exhaustive. His statement in verse 21 and things like these attests to this.Also, the Scriptures elsewhere present other lists of the sins of the flesh different than this one, as in Matthew 15:19, Romans 1:2432, and 1Corinthians 6:910. Although no list is identical with the others, the list in Galatians is probably the most complete and systematic.Dr. Ronald Y. K. Fung has produced one of the most outstanding commentaries on Galatians in print today.3 It is part of the excellent series, TheNew International Commentary on the New Testament. His chart on the Greek words used in Pauls fourfold classification of the deeds of the fleshand the various way they are translated into English by some of the major English translations of the Bible is given on page 120.The apostle begins verse 19a by saying, Now the works of the flesh are evident. The noun phaepos here translated evident means open topublic observation or obvious.4 The idea would be something so obvious one does not need the law to point them out.Paul had expressed his concern in 5:13 that the liberty the believers enjoyed in Christ not become a pretext for the flesh. Believers are to live bythe law of love, itself the result of the Spirits work in their lives. To believers who are living in, being led by, and walking in the Spirit these unholypractices should be obvious. This is evidently what the apostle is saying here.ImmoralityThe first moral (sexual) sin mentioned by the apostle is porneia, properly translated immorality in the NAS.5William Barclay comments:6It has been said, and said truly, that the one completely new virtue which Christianity brought into the world was chastity. Christianity came into a world wheresexual immorality was not only condoned, but was regarded as normal and essential to the ordinary working of life.

Greek(a)Sexual sins

[moicheia]

Figure 16.1The Works of the Flesh in Galatians 5:1921:Classification and English TranslationsAVRVRSVNEB[adultery]

party intrigues factions

= NASB

(xiii)

phthonoi

envyings[murders]

= AV

envy

jealousies

= AV

= RSV

= AV

drinkingboutscarousing

= AV

= AV

orgies

carousings

[phonoi](d) Sinsof

= AV

methai(xv)

drunkennesskmoi

= AVrevellings

= AV

= NEB

= RSV

= NEB

Ridderbos says porneia refers to illegitimate sexual intercourse in the widest sense of the word.7 This is in harmony with what we have alreadysaid except at one point. The word sexual intercourse is too restrictive. One can be guilty of sexual sin without engaging in physical sexualintercourse. The New Testament reveals that sexual sins can be committed with the mind or imagination as well as with the body.The Battle for the MindAs we have repeatedly mentioned, the real battleground is the mind, the imagination, the fantasy realm. The Scriptures are clear that immoralityis first committed in the mind, the imagination, the fantasy realm, before it is committed with the body. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught:You have heard that it was said, You shall not commit adultery; but I say to you, that everyone who looks on a woman to lust for her has committed adulterywith her already in his heart. (Matt. 5:2728)

First we discover what Jesus did not say. He did not say it is a sin to look at an attractive woman (or in the case of women, to look at an attractiveman). An attractive woman is attractive to any normal man.77 7. Herman Ridderbos, The Epistle of Paul to the Church of Galatia (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1976), 205.

What Jesus did say is that if one looks lustfully on a woman he is guilty of adultery (v. 28). This is immorality of the heart, of the mind, of theimagination. John Broadus comments thatJesus condemns not merely the outward act of sin, but the cherishing of sinful desire. Stier (says), He who experiences at a first glance this desire, and theninstead of turning away and withdrawing from sin (2 Peter 2:14) throws a second glance with lustful intent and in order to retain and increase that impulse,commits the sin.8

Living as we are in a world in which nudity, partial nudity and sexually stimulating dress style is rampant, the battle for mental purity in the childof God is more intense than ever. Those whose ministry involves continual travel and absence from ones spouse can be especially susceptible to suchmental pollution.For several weeks I had been traveling with a fellow missionary, holding training conferences for missionary leaders. We arrived in a majorEuropean city. After going through customs we were met by a European Christian leader who was to drive us to the site of our next conference.We had to take an elevator to reach the underground parking lot. When we reached our floor the elevator doors opened and before our shockedeyes directly in front of the elevator was a row of small stores with a sign saying in English Sex Shops. Below the sign, running the full length ofthe sex shops, stood life-size photos of beautiful but almost totally naked women.My partner and I were so shocked we could not speak. The German brother had his back to the stores. He indicated that the fastest way to reachthe car was straight ahead, which would have taken us past the sex shops and their alluring photographs. Or, he said, we can go another but longerway.Lets go the longer way, my traveling companion and I blurted out almost in unison.As we walked away I said within me, I reject all images of female nudity which have reached my mind. I reject all impure thoughts. I deny allsexual fantasies that want to impress themselves on my mind. I am a man of God and will not allow immoral thoughts a place in my mind or myimagination.As I did this, I did not ask Gods forgiveness for the sexual images that came against my mind. I had no power over them. I didnt place thosesensual photos there, and I was not responsible for the images they naturally brought against my imagination. I was responsible only to reject themand not allow them any place in my mind. I did that and was thus free from any guilt before God.There is great truth to the familiar saying, We cant stop the birds from flying around our heads, but we can stop them from building their nest inour hair.During one of his crusades a few years ago, Dr. Billy Graham said, In any battle between the imagination and the will, the will loses out everytime. What did he mean? He meant the battle has to be won at the beginning when wrong thoughts or images first reach the mind. If we entertainthem in our imagination instead of rejecting them immediately, our will is not strong enough to overcome the inflamed imagination.I often tell my students, If you see me walking across the campus and suddenly I say, I wont accept that thought! dont think I have lost mymind. Ive just forcibly expelled some sinful thought or image which has come against my mind from the flesh, the world, or the Devil.THE BOTTOMLESS PIT OF PORNOGRAPHYOne of Satans primary instruments of sexual attack against the mind of humanity (usually men) in general and believers in particular ispornography. It exists in epidemic form in the U.S. and the Western world.The word pornography comes from two Greek words of ancient vintage: porne, which originally meant a prostitute and is translated harlot inthe New Testament. While it referred primarily to women prostitutes, it was also used of males. The second word is graphe, meaning a picture, apainting, or a writing. It covers all forms of external physical symbols which produce sexual arousal in those who are involved with them.88 8. John A. Broadus, Matthew (Valley Forge, Penn.: Judson Press, 1886), 109.

In the Western world and in many non-Western nations pornography is making inroads not only into our culture in general, but into our homes inparticular. Christian homes are affected, also.Once pornography was found primarily in sleazy stores on the other side of the tracks. Now it is out in the open. Grocery stores offer soft corepornography of sexually stimulating pictures and stories focusing on nudity and normal sexuality, often right next to the checkout stands. Sexuallyexplicit books, many with pictures of male and female nudity, are available for children as well as adults in most public libraries. The media,especially magazines, movies, videos, and T.V., promote nudity and illicit sexual activities at an alarming rate and boast that the pictures and storieswill become more and more explicit in the months ahead.Pornography, like prostitution, is not a victimless crime, as is often affirmed. Its victims are everywhere. It stimulates the imagination to commitmental adultery. It produces desires contrary to Gods will for our life. It stirs the passions and sexual arousal, especially of men, which makes themtemporarily potentially dangerous to women and to children.While some experts deny this, the average man knows it is true. Many men, including Christians, have themselves been sexually stimulated bypornography and have been tempted to seek sex even with unwilling women or children. How much incest and rape is due to sexual arousalstimulated by pornography!Pornography is a mind-imagination-fantasy game. It leads to the mental lusting after women condemned by the Lord Jesus in Matthew 5:2729.It is an eight-billion-dollar-plus per year industry in the U.S. While inroads into the female portion of the U.S. population are now being made, it isprimarily a male problem, particularly of single men.Its negative impact on the males view of women and the place of sex in the male-female relationship are devastating even according to manysecular researchers. Pornography researcher Harriet Koskoff reports thatPornography feeds fantasies . . . by allowing men mentally to turn female flesh into putty. More exactly, pornography is an aid to masturbation . . . I thinkpornography has something to do with the laissez-faire society we live in . . . Its part of the me, me, me, I am the center of the universe mentality that has takenhold.Pornography is primarily about masturbation, whether it is mental or actual. The star of masturbation is also the director and the viewer. . . . Today, porn consumersgo into a neighborhood video store and select one of 7,000 porn titles currently available. 9

Another researcher adds:10

Pornography is about the anatomical portrayal of sex. There is no room for human feeling . . . for two people sharing their deepest selves. If all(the viewer) has in his mind are images of people mating like barnyard animals, how will he ever learn that love electrifies sex?Dr. James Dobson, who was chosen to be part of the Attorney Generals Commission on The Study of Pornography in the U.S. in 1986, has givena thorough overview of the pornography epidemic sweeping the U.S. in the August, 1986, edition of Focus on the Family.11A Pastor InvestigatesRev. Bill Hybels, pastor of Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Illinois, has written a shocking book on pornography entitledChristians in A Sex Crazed Society. Excerpts from his excellent book were printed in a cover article by Moody Monthly in April, 1989, entitled TheSin That So Easily Entangles.12 The article is thorough but shocking, especially as it concerns the inroads of pornography into our Christian homes.The following is taken from the article with permission of the publisher.99 9. Harriet Koskoff, In Love With Porn, West Magazine, San Jose Mercury News, January, 1989, 1118.1010 10. John Hubner, In Love With Porn, West Magazine, San Jose Mercury News, January, 1989, 1118.1111 11. Dr. James Dobson, Combating the Darkness: the Pornography Commissions Final Report (Colorado Springs, Co.: Focus onthe Family, August, 1986), 14.1212 12. Rev. Bill Hybels, The Sin That So Easily Entangles, Moody Monthly (April, 1989).

Hybels began to awaken to the inroads of pornography into the churches as he found himself counseling godly Christians, even church leaders,whose lives were being devastated by bondage to pornography. He was shocked to the core of his being at what he learned.First, Hybels learned that pornography has changed for the worse. Hybels asks if his disturbing counseling experience with one of his churchmembers who was in bondage to pornography was an exception: Arent we making too much hoopla over pornography?I have hundreds of concerns more pressing than taking Playboy out of the hands of those who buy it occasionally. Besides, I viewed some of those airbrushedcenterfolds when I was in junior and senior high school, and it didnt ruin my life. Im happily married, with two wonderful children. Whats the big deal?In the past few years, I have heard the cries of people claiming that pornography is proliferating and that we should do something about it. Area leaders evencontacted me to help them close down the adult bookstores in our community. And all along I found myself asking, Why all the drama?One of the rudest awakenings of my life came when I researched this subject.I got copies of pornographic magazines, and I found out that the kind I used to sneak peeks at in high school doesnt even exist anymore. I couldnt locate onemagazine with partially clad womenthe mild kind of pornography that was the standard 15 years ago.Instead, I learned that todays mild form of pornographythe stuff we can buy in area convenience storescontains photo layouts that defy the imagination,including pictures of women being bound and gagged, raped, whipped, and abused. Standard fare includes an array of multiple sexual partners in heterosexual,homosexual, and lesbian photo poses. The underlying theme is usually domination or violence.The rougher magazines depict scenes of gang rape, torture, and bestiality. Some of the most popular magazines show men and women having sexual relations withchildren ranging in age from three to eight years. I was appalled and outraged.And then I learned about the seedier side of the pornography industrythe adult bookstores. There are more adult bookstores in this country than there areMcDonalds20,000. They sell sex magazines and sexual paraphernalia, but their major attraction is the film booth. A police officer in my church infiltrated thesebookstores and told me things not fit to print.No, pornography isnt anything like it was 15 years ago. But what concerns me most is the damage it does to the people who get caught up in it.

Second, Hybels discovered that pornography is addicting.

When we indulge our sexual appetites and begin viewing explicit videos, movies, and magazines, we find that pornography is addicting. It makes us want more,more, more. And like alcohol and drugs, pornography shatters lives. This week I received a letter from someone in my church who is struggling with this addiction.He wrote:I am an emotional invalid. My addiction to pornography paralyzes my spiritual life, perverts my view of the world, distorts my social life, and destroys anypossibility of God using me, and I just cant stop. Lust eats me up, yet it doesnt satisfy. Pornography promises me everything; it produces nothing.Some time ago, I tried to help a woman whose husband was addicted to pornography. She brought in a phone bill of more than $300he was making 20 to 30dial-a-porn calls a night. He also had a stack of magazines four feet high and boxes full of pornographic films.Those of us who have never been addicted to anything will never understand the intensity of desire that an addict feels. But we must be as understanding and ascompassionate as we can be, because people who matter to God and who sit next to us in church have unintentionally crossed that invisible line. They are enslavedto a pattern of life that leads to heartache and ruin, and they dont know how to stop.

Third, Hybels understood that pornography is degrading to women.

Showing women being seduced, stripped, and handled like farm animals is a hideous assault on their dignity. Jesus elevated the role and dignity of women. SoChristians are disgusted when a womans dignity is assaulted in pornographic material.But Im even more concerned about the pornographys subtle assault on the nature and character of women. Pornography depicts women as having an insatiableappetite for sex. If there is a common thread that ties pornographic content together, it is the continual emphasis, made in dozens of ways, that even though womenindicate they are not interested in a mans sexual advances, really they are. . . . There are thousands of men in our community who are addicted to pornography,who are wandering around in public places, convinced that all women are craving sex all day. If a woman resists, she really wants him to overpower her and takeher forcibly.

Fourth, Hybels saw that pornography undermines marriage.

I know that many married couples in my church view adult videos to add some spice to their sexual lives. Initially, viewing pornography may excite and stimulatemarriage partners. But its not the initial results Im concerned about.

I counseled with a woman recently who is a leader in her church. Her husband is an elder. The two of them began using pornography as a marital stimulus someyears ago. She came to see me because her marriage is in a shambles.God designed marital sexuality to flow out of the context of a loving and intimate relationship where nurturing, communication, serving, and tenderness go on.When those values are cultivated in a marriage, they arouse sexual interest. Sexual intercourse then becomes an expression of caring, of loving, a way of saying,You matter to me. I love you and I want to communicate that to you tenderly.Pornography short-circuits all of that. It reduces the sexual dimension of marriage to a biologically induced athletic event, and eventually there is no longer muchemphasis on the loving part of marriage. Once that is drained out of a relationship, the heart and soul of marital sexuality is gone. The woman starts feeling usedand abused, and the man starts feeling frustrated and empty.A woman told me, My husband and I cant have a sexual experience without pornography to get us started. But then we feel filthy and guilty and empty.

Fifth, Hybels found out that pornography is devastating to children.

Pornography inevitably falls into the hands of children (and teens) and often leads to misguided sexual experimentation. The results are shattering.One woman said she has spent the past 20 years trying to recover from damage caused by her brother. He began viewing pornography as a 12-year-old and didntknow where to focus his sexual excitement, so he used his 10-year-old sister.If pornography distorts the sexual perspective of adults, think what it must do to children who are incapable of making wise decisions about simple things, letalone something as complex as human sexuality.Children become victims of pornography in another way. They fall prey to adults whose use of pornography has awakened in them a sickening interest in thesexual exploitation of children. A man from my church, in an unsigned letter, admitted that he is addicted to pornography and that he made advances toward a 12year-old girl.A group on the West Coast has this motto: Sex before eight, before its too late. Books on the market give explicit instructions to child molesters, describing indetail how to seduce children.Producers and merchants of pornography are focusing their marketing strategy for the next wave of explicit materials on children between 12 and 17. Whos goingto stop them?

In my worldwide ministry with Christian leaders I have ministered to hundreds with severe sexual malfunctions. In most cases their problemsbegan either through being victims of sexual abuse in childhood or through bondage to pornography, usually beginning in adolescence or youth.I would like to add to Hybels observations about the threat of pornography to marriage by giving a recent case study.During my spiritual life and warfare conferences, I try to be available for personal counseling with couples or individuals. I was counseling ahandsome young missionary couple about various needs in their life. When the session was over, the wife tarried behind. She asked for and wasgranted a private counseling session with me the next day.I am having difficulty responding sexually to my husband, she confessed.Do you feel that you can identify the root of your problem? I asked. Yes, she replied. I know when the problem began. Sometime ago I wasrearranging his closet when I discovered some magazines hidden among his personal belongings.I ordinarily do not look through his personal things. I just accidentally found the magazines. When I opened them I was shocked to see they werefilled with graphic pictures of beautiful women totally nude.I was stunned. I had never suspected he was interested in any other woman besides me. I was horrified and began to cry.As I looked again at the bodies of those fully endowed women, I went to the mirror and looked at myself. I could not help but cry out, My God,if that is what he wants from me, I can never satisfy him. I just dont have all that those women have to offer him. I have never enjoyed sex with himfrom that time until now.I cannot help but warn my male readers who are even casual users of pornography, this same thing could happen in your marriage. Probably 99percent of the women in the world are not physically endowed as are the women willing to sell their bodies to the pornography industry. You threatenthe intimacy of your marriage if you begin to superimpose such sexual fantasies upon your wifes role within your sexual union.

Michael J. McManus, author of the widely syndicated Ethics and Religion column, says the following about pornography:13Between 1960 and 1985, there has been a quadruple rise in the number of illegitimate children; the number of abortions has tripled; the number of divorces hastripled; theres been a 100-fold increase in child molestation. In my view, the reason for the rise can be traced to pornography. Pornography justifies taking offrestraints.Man needs discipline in the sexual area just as he needs discipline to be a success in life.

There are cross-cultural dimensions to pornography. Some who do not have access to the printed page, pornographic videos and/or theaters, havetheir own form of potential pornographic enslavements. The young man who breaks a local taboo and regularly practices voyeurism in a tribal settingis involved in a local form of pornography as much as the one who has available pornographic literature, films, and porn shops within his culture.Finally I would like to share another case study coming from one of my former students at Biola University, who wrote:I had been caught up in [pornography] since my childhood and was never able to become free, no matter how much I prayed or confessed. I had hidden this sinfrom everyone, I was so embarrassed and ashamed, I could not even confide in anyone, within or outside the church. I could only recently confess this sinful areaof my life to my wife. I did not pursue the ministry because I could not resolve this addiction. I did not want to dishonor my Lord. I always feared I would bediscovered. I am now grateful to say I am now free. 14

Immorality, of course, involves much more than pornography. Yet in the battle for the mind pornography is one of the major open doors to illicitsexual stimulation of the imagination, what I continually call the fantasy realm.An AppealI close this chapter with an impassioned appeal. If the reader has any involvement with pornography, break the habit now. Find a prayer-sharehealing partner (James 5:16) who will pray with you and encourage you. Find someone to whom you can become accountable, who will check up onyou, to whom you can go when temptations attempt to take control.Your bondage will only increase if you do not stop now and get help now. If you are a casual user, cut off the practice now, completely. Guardwhat you see in movies and on T.V. and videos. Refuse to buy, look at, or read any sexually stimulating literature. The freedom you will experience isworth the initial struggle. The Son of Man will set you free, and you will be free indeed. I know. I personally enjoy that freedom. It is worthmore than all the gold of Fort Knox.

17The Age of ErosIn 1988 alone five of my pastor friends in northern California were caught in adultery. While this sounds almost unbelievable, it is true. All five weregodly men. They were good pastors. They had lovely and loving wives.All five had to leave their churches. Only one is back in the pastoral ministry today.1 How many other fellow pastors have been or even still areinvolved in illicit sexual relationships but have not been caught as yet? Only God knows!We are experiencing a worldwide plague of illicit sexual activities, even among Christians. The problem, of course, has been with us from thebeginning. A look at illicit sexual activities in both the Old and New Testaments confirms this. The problem will continue until the believers flesh is1313 13. Quoted by Hubner, 14.1414 14. He writes that this freedom came as he used my audio cassette and study manual series called Spiritual Warfare, 16cassettes and a 112-page self-help study manual. For information, write OC International, Inc., P.O. Box 36900, Colorado Springs,CO 809366900.11 1. It is outside the scope of this book to deal with the controversial issue of whether or not fallen pastors should be allowedback in the pastoral ministry. Feelings are strong on both sides of the issue.

finally done away with at the coming of Christ. We are seeing new and disturbing dimensions of the problem around the globe, especially in theWestern world.Historical Perspective: Enlightenment Rejection of Revealed EthicsFrom a human-historical perspective this is the predictable results of the Enlightenment of the eighteenth century. The Enlightenment rejectedGod and all normative ethics based on divine revelation. Individualism, human progress based on reason and not revelation, and total commitment tonaturalistic science undermined religious and, particularly, Christian faith. All objective foundation for morality was removed. Whatever humanbeings enjoyed and found meaningful to their life was acceptable if it did not directly hurt other people.The Enlightenment, in turn, gave birth to the triplets of naturalism, humanism, and materialism. These world views reject the objective reality ofthe supernatural or at least any direct involvement of whatever supernaturalism may exist in human life. They affirm mans capacity for selfrealization through reason (rationalism) and the empiricism of the scientific method (scientism). All that exists is the natural world (naturalism). Manis thus alone in his universe (atheism).Out of naturalism, humanism, and materialism has come nihilism, the view that all restrictive traditional values and beliefs are unfounded. Thereis no objective ground for truth, especially moral truth. Nihilism leads inevitably to the conclusion, consciously or unconsciously, that humanexistence has no objective meaning. As the only reality, we can live for personal satisfaction. Nihilisms motto is, If it feels good, do it.Either blatantly, especially through many of our educational institutions, or covertly, especially through the media, the present adult generationand the emerging generation of young people are being conditioned to believe the only restraints on sexuality are the consent of the persons involvedand precautions against disease and unwanted pregnancy.We are sexual beings, it is claimed. Why should not consenting persons be allowed to become sexually active as soon as they are able anddesire to do so?As a result of this kind of thinking, the church which is supposed to change the world, is becoming changed by the world. As early as 1959 A. W.Tozer wrote thatThe period in which we now live may well go down in history as the Erotic Age. Sexual love has been elevated into a cult. Eros has more worshipers amongcivilized men today than any other god. For millions the erotic has completely displaced the spiritual. . . . Tears and silence might be better than words if thingswere slightly otherwise than they are. But the cult of eros is seriously affecting the Church. The pure religion of Christ that flows like a crystal river from the heartof God is being polluted by the unclean waters that trickle from behind the altars of abomination that appear on every high hill and under every green tree fromNew York to Los Angeles.2

Randy C. Alcorn, whose book Christians in the Wake of the Sexual Revolution contains Tozers quote, himself says,In New Testament times, the sexual purity of Gods people drew a sharp line dividing them from the non-Christian world. Prior to the sexual revolution, this waslargely true of the Church in America. But things have radically changed. In Flirting With the World, John White draws these sobering conclusions: the sexualbehavior of Christians has reached the point of being indistinguishable from that of non-Christians. . . . In our sexual behavior we, as a Christian community, areboth in the world, and of it.

Alcorn turns to a 1984 Gallup poll to substantiate Whites claim. The poll discovered that churched and unchurched behaved alike on moralissues such as lying, cheating, pilferageand sex. He reaches the sad conclusion thatIt is increasingly difficult to discern where the world ends and the Church begins. . . . Like the frog that boiled to death by degrees, many Christian homes havebeen gradually desensitized to sexual sin. The result is predictableimmorality is more rampant among believers than ever before. 3

Normal Human Sexuality and Victory Over Lust

I am a normal man with normal male sexuality. I have found that sexual temptations have not diminished one bit since I have passed fifty years ofage. I used to have the idea that when I was older somehow sexuality would go on hold. I would be able to walk along the beach surrounded bywomen clad in their skimpy swimsuits and it would not have any impact upon me. I have found that this is not the case.Years ago I was leading a Bible study with some of our younger missionaries from 1 Timothy 6:11 and 2 Timothy 2:22 where the apostle Pauladmonishes us to flee from these thingsflee from youthful lusts.I naturally had to touch on sexual lust. I suddenly remembered that an elderly gentleman in his eighties was with us. Since it was an informalsetting, I stopped and said, I am looking forward to the day when I am gray-headed like our brother and wont have to deal with sexual lusts.Everyone laughed except our brother. Before I could go on he raised his hand for permission to speak. He said, Young man, you will have thatproblem with you all your life.Again, everyone laughed. I did not. I truly believed that that problem would disappear with age. Now that I am gray-headed I know what hemeant. Just because there is snow on the roof does not mean there is no flame in the fireplace.Nevertheless, there is victory in Christ over sexual lusts and fantasy. One does not have to live in semi-mental-emotional bondage to sexual lustseven in our present age of sexual display.When the apostle Paul said to flee from such lusts he meant just what he said. Men cannot be exposed to female nudity or semi-nudity withoutexperiencing some form of sexual stimulation.4 What is the answer? Simply this: As much as possible we must stay away from this type of sexualexposure.This requires self-discipline, especially in our reading habits and television and movie viewing. We know what magazines, books, and programscontain sexually stimulating photographs, articles, and stories. We must refuse to buy, read, or view them. We must remember that the dangeroushabit of looking, reading, buying, and lusting often leads to foiled marriages, disturbed children, broken fellowship with God, and shame before aworld that expects Christians to live lives of sexual purity.A Double StandardThe Bible does teach a double standard. There is a very high standard for Christians in general. There is an even higher standard for Christianleaders.Martin Luther once said, It is no small thing to stand before men in the place of God. That is what it means to be a Christian leader. Is that notwhat James meant when he wrote, Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we shall incur a stricter judgment(James 3:1)?To my readers who are already Christian leaders or who aspire to Christian leadership, God requires more of you and me than He does of those hecalls us to lead. We must count the cost. We must not aspire to Christian leadership unless we are willing to die to self, to fleshly lusts, to the pride oflife (1 John 2:1517).If you are in bondage to any type of sexual sins, stay out of Christian leadership until you have a proven track record of victory over yourproblem. The idea that once you become a pastor, evangelist, Bible teacher, missionary or whatever, you will then be able to gain the victory and theholy life you yearn for is self-deception. It is a total illusion. The warfare with the flesh, with the world, and with Satan intensifies when you becomea Christian leader, not lessens.We must accept the responsibilities of Christian leadership. The battles are not won in the pulpit, on the platform, or from the podium, but insecret when no one is watching you.

44 4. I speak primarily to men because men are usually more susceptible to visual sexual stimulation than women. Increasingly,however, some women are facing similar problems.

What do you do with your eyes? Your hands? Your feet? Your mind? Your imagination when no one is watching you? No Christian leader everfell into sexual sin without that sin first arising in his mind usually over and over again when no one was looking.Of course there is forgiveness. That is a given. God always forgives His sinning leaders even when they have disgraced His name. But think,while you still have control over your mind, emotions, and body, of the shame you will bring upon God, upon yourself, your family, and theworldwide church by your self-centered activities! If you cannot live up to the demands and moral standards of the ministry, get out of the ministry.You dont belong there. You have heard the expression, If you cant stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen.My close friend and colleague, the well-known evangelist-Bible teacher Dr. Luis Palau, time and time again warns Christian leaders of what hecalls hanky pankyness on the part of Christian leaders.Christian leaders often try to indulge in all they can get away with in border-line misconduct. They might not go to a prostitute or have an affair, but they will lookat pornography. They will watch movies in hotel rooms which they would be ashamed to watch at home with their wives. They will look and even touch andfondle and get sexually stimulated but stop short of outright immorality. This is sin. It has no place in the life of Gods servant.

The Consequence of Sexual Sin for Leaders

During the years I spent as a full-time professor at Biola University, sexual falls on the part of male teachers with female students unfortunatelyoccasionally occurred. One year two such incidents shocked the faculty. Both of the men were my friends. I, along with my fellow professors, hadsuspected nothing.My wife, Loretta, has difficulty with this kind of misconduct on the part of Christian leaders. She is so pure of heart and so totally sincere andcommitted to God, to biblical standards and a holy lifestyle, and to me as her lover-husband, it always depresses her when a Christian leader fallssexually. After the above incidents occurred she said to me,Honey, I must ask you a question. It is not evidence of distrust but I must ask the question. I will preface the question with an observation aboutthe Biola girls, as you call them, who are in your classes. You as a man and their professor are very affectionate. You see them as girls, like yourtwo daughters, but they are not your daughters. Nor are they girls. They are fully developed women.You must be very careful when you counsel them. You must remember many of them are lonely and hunger for love. Many have not had a manin their life as a model. They can transfer their need for closeness to an older man, call it a father figure if you like, to you and it can become sexualwithout your or their being aware of it.Now, here is the question I want to ask. How can I be sure you will not become involved with one of these women or another woman in yourconstant travels? No one suspected your two fellow professors until they were caught. How about you?From my gentle, sweet, and quiet wife, that was really a bombshell of a question. Though her directness startled me, the question needed to beasked. In answering her, I was able to express how I deal with this issue in all of my ministry.It is not something I do not think about. It is an ever-present danger which I have faced many times since I began my traveling ministry over fortyyears ago when I was only nineteen years old. I could have fallen sexually any number of times. The opportunities were there and they still exist. Isaid to Loretta,First, I know if I were to experience a sexual fall my relationship with God would be broken. Though He would forgive me, my relationshipwith Him would never be the same.How could I face God knowing what I had done? My heart is too tender before Him as it is. I cannot stand for any cloud to come betweenGod and me. A sexual fall would undermine everything my spiritual life has been built upon. How could I pray? How could I have fellowshipwith Him if I so terribly betrayed Him?Second, I would personally have to leave the ministry. Others perhaps would not, but I would. I could not stand before Gods people or theunsaved and preach what is not true in my life.

I struggle with sin as all of us do. But sexual sin is always premeditated. There is always a point at which a man can resist and flee fromsexual stimulation. No one just happens to fall into sexual sin. The sin has usually been floating around in ones imagination before one hasoccasion to act it out in physical experience.That is hypocrisy. How can I teach on victory in spiritual warfare if I am not walking in victory? How can I preach on holiness if I am notliving a holy life?Third, I love you, totally. How could I face you as my wife if I did such a terrible thing? How could I look into your eyes, hold you in myarms, give to you and receive from you intimate love if I have been lusting after or having sex with another woman? You know me so well youwould know it happened even before I told you. Besides, I love you so much it makes it that much easier to flee from the strange woman.Fourth, how could I ever face our two lovely daughters? If I failed them as an example of a godly, morally pure father, how could I everagain relate to them with a pure conscience?The same applies to our two sons. How can I help to influence them in their moral life in our immoral society unless I model before them alife of victory over sexual temptations? The same applies to our grandchildren.Since that day Loretta has never brought up the question again. As she said, she had to hear it from my lips to be truly at peace. Since that day shehas helped me counsel many men and women who have broken their marital vows. She knows we all carry the sinful flesh in our mortal bodies andare all capable of falling but she is at rest, trusting me to the Holy Spirit who has made my body His holy temple. It is to Him I also trust myself.Choosing to engage in mental sexual pollution can and usually does lead to some kind of bondage, even demonic bondage. Figure 17.1, TheContinuum of Sin (p. 134), illustrates how the wrong choices can lead to bondage.Probably you feel you would never slip into immorality. All committed Christians should feel that way. So did the young woman whose storyappeared in Decision magazine, January, 1988.5 I trust it will serve as a sober warning of how vulnerable we all are to sexual temptation of both mindand body. Written by Maureen Grant, the article is called I Was Not Immune.Our next-door neighbors were separating; Elaine had been having an affair with a business acquaintance. Two homes were brokenfour lives would never be thesame.Well, I told my husband simply, at least youll never have to worry about your wife being unfaithful. Infidelity was the furthest thing from my mind.I naively thought that as a Christian I was safe from temptation. Nothing like that could ever happen to me! Little did I know that a few months later I would faceone of the strongest temptations I had ever encountered in my 10 years as a Christian.A co-worker at the office, Doug, and I began to have an occasional cup of coffee together. I assured myself that there was nothing wrong with these datesDoug was just a friend whose company I enjoyed. Yet I began to realize how much I looked forward to these meetings. The many compliments Doug gave mebolstered my ego. And soon I was telling him my personal problems and revealing confidences that should have been shared with my husband alone.Before I knew it, a fantasy developed in my mind. At first it happened occasionally, but it reached a point where my thought life centered on this man. I beganmentally to rehearse details of an affair with Doug. Fidelity toward my husband looked colorless in comparison to the inviting relationship I could be having. Toadd to the temptation, Doug was suggesting meetings outside working hours.I struggled with conflicting feelings. I wanted to pursue the relationship and I wanted to remain faithful to my husband. Finally I confided in a trusted Christianfriend.Her advice was straightforward: Run from the source of temptation. Quoting a verse of Scripture, she warned, Your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion,walketh about, seeking whom he may devour. Resist Satan at all costs.How foolish I had been to think that being a Christian somehow made me immune to temptation! I took her advice, even though it meant changing jobs. I knewthat it would be difficult for me not to respond to Dougs attentions.

Next I realized that my thought life desperately needed changing. An affair happens in the mind long before it actually occurs. We read in Gods word, When lusthath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. Though it took self-discipline when a lustful thought entered my mind, Irefused to let it linger.How had I been spending my leisure hours? I thought of the trashy novels I read, the soap operas I watched where characters hopped from one lover to another,apparently suffering no ill consequences. Was this kind of entertainment meant for a child of God?I reminded myself of a verse in Philippians: Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure,whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.During the time I ordinarily spent watching television, I now started Bible study, something I had been neglecting. The verses I read provided spiritual strength,something to fall back on when tempted.I examined my relationship with my husband. All too often we had been taking each other for granted! I reminded myself that my husband was a gift from theLord, and I chose to make our marriage the most important relationship in my life.I hesitate to think about the direction my life would have taken had I followed my selfish desires. How important that we adhere to the wisdom in Ephesians: Puton the whole armor of God, that [we] may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

I was the main speaker at a major Christian conference center a few years ago. During the morning teaching session I spoke on Spiritual Warfareas a Multidimensional Sin War. In one of the evening sessions I taught on the potential of demonic activity in the lives of Christians bound by sexualimmorality to the point of sexual addiction.6After that final session I had a late snack with John, the camp director.Ed, he said, After hearing your sessions today, I have an idea what may be the problem in the life of the senior pastor where I was associatepastor before coming here. From what you have been teaching us I would suspect that the pastor is demonized, he said.I never say a persons problem is partially the result of demonization unless I actually make contact with demons in his life, I replied. So ifyou will keep that in mind, I am willing to listen to the story. I can see you are deeply concerned about this pastor.I was the associate pastor of the church, John said. It was and probably still is the largest and fastest growing church in the city. People cometo Christ weekly during the church services. The pastor truly preaches the Word of God.One day a young married woman came to me for counseling. She was brokenhearted because she had been having an affair. God had broughther under such conviction she had already broken off the illicit relationship. She came to me for help.I ministered to her from the Word of God, assuring her of Gods forgiveness and praying with her. Finally after one of the sessions she said,Pastor, the worst thing about this affair is the person with whom I have been involved is our senior pastor.

66 6. Bondage to illicit sexual practices or being driven by sexual desires until they almost totally control ones life can become anaddiction as strong as nicotine, drugs, etc. (see Patrick Carnes, Out of the Shadows: Understanding Sexual Addiction[Minneapolis, Minn.: CompCare Publishers, 1983]). In such cases direct demonic attachment to the life of the addict is also verycommon.

John was speechless. At first he thought the woman was lying, that perhaps she was infatuated with the pastor and was out to hurt him because hewas unresponsive to her flirtations. But the more he counseled with her the more he became convinced of her sincerity.Over the course of the months following this counseling session, several other women came to him with the same story. All had been havingsexual affairs with the senior pastor.John carefully investigated each case. He had to have irrefutable evidence with which to face the pastor. The pastor had a strong personality, andJohn knew his own ministry was in jeopardy if the pastor denied the charges. In time he had the needed evidence. Several of the women were willingto face the pastor with John and other church leaders.John decided to talk with the pastor alone as the Scriptures teach. The meeting was very unpleasant. The pastor denied the charges. John askedhim if he would deny the charges with the women present. He refused to see the women.

I was really in a tight spot, John said. If it had been just one woman that might be different. Perhaps it could be false accusation. While itseems unbelievable, before I left the church I had talked with about thirty women with whom the pastor had had sexual relations over the years. Sincethe pastor refused to confront any of the women face-to-face, I had to assume his guilt.I next followed the biblical procedure and took the matter to the church elders. They became furious with me. They said that God was blessingthe church under the pastors leadership. Therefore these stories could not be true.I begged them to at least look into the matter but they categorically refused. They were certain that people would not be coming to Christ and thechurch growing so rapidly, if the pastor were other than a holy man.Then came the final blow. The elders said I must leave the church since I was a carrier of malicious gossip.I had no choice but to resign. The pastor is still there and the church is still growing. After hearing your teaching this week I have begun towonder if there might be a demonic dimension to his problem.Of course there was no way I could judge just from the story I was told. Even if a strong demonic dimension to his sexual licentiousnessexisted, the pastor was still responsible for his actions. He was choosing to walk in the flesh in this area of immorality. To sin or not is achoice.

18Homosexuality in Biblical PerspectiveI hate my homosexuality! The words exploded like small bombs in the quiet of the pastors study. I love the Lord and I want to serve Him! I knowthese homosexual desires of mine do not please Him. Please help me!The pastor listened intently to the handsome young man pacing the floor of the study and crying for help.I came to you, the young man continued, because you are well known as an evangelical pastor and I thought you would understand myproblem. Everyone else would damn me outright to hell, but I dont need damnation. I need someone to help me out of the hell of myhomosexuality.As the young man continued to pour out his anguish of desperation and frustration, the pastor shifted slightly in his chair.Ive attended Bible school, but I simply cant enter the ministry with this hanging over me. The young man looked imploringly at the minister.Please, Im so confused. Will you help me?Did the pastor condemn the young man as others had? No! Instead, the pastor totally betrayed his ordination vows and the ethics of the counselorcounselee relationship and tried to seduce the troubled youth right there in his office!Completely devastated, the young man fled. Badly damaged by this incident and on the edge of panic, he called me. I counseled him as much as Icould by telephone. Finally he found a godly Christian counselor in his own city who is showing him the way to victory.Too horrible to be true? No! This is a true story.The second moral sin mentioned by the apostle Paul in Galatians 5:19 is akatharsia in Greek. Fung says its meaning is basically uncleanness asthe KJV translates it.1 The NAS translates it impurity. It often appears in the New Testament with porneia, immorality (2 Cor. 12:21; Eph. 5:3,5;Col. 3:5).

Vine says the Greek word in this context means uncleanness, impurity or filthiness in a moral sense.2 It covers a wide variety of impure sexualpractices, but I limit our study here to two areas, homosexuality and masturbation. I do so because of the prominence of these two impure sexualpractices in our day among Christians and Christian leaders. We will start with homosexuality.John White in his insightful book, Eros Defiled: The Christian and Sexual Sin, provides some of the most balanced teaching in print on Christiansand sexual issues. His chapter on homosexuality is entitled Two Halves Do Not Make One Whole.3 I will return to Whites ideas in a moment.Homosexuality and the BibleAccording to Scripture, homosexual activity of any type is sin and is strongly condemned.It is first spoken of with reference to the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 19. From the evil practices of the inhabitants of these twocities (v. 5f) the word sodomite has originated. It is used several times in the KJV of the Old Testament (Deut. 23:17; 1 Kings 14:24; 15:12; 22:46; 2Kings 23:7; Job 36:14 margin). Most of the references refer to the abomination of male cult prostitution which was common among the pagan nationsin contact with Israel and, in times of spiritual decline, was practiced by the Israelites also (Judg. 19:22; 1 Kings 14:24; 2 Kings 23:7).Homosexuality is categorically prohibited by God in the Old Testament laws governing the sexual life of his people (Lev. 18:22; 20:13; Deut.23:18). It is called an abomination five times in Leviticus 18 (vv. 22,26,27,29,30). In Leviticus 20:13 it is called a detestable act. This isconsistent with the root meaning of the word which means to detest, to hate, or abhor.4 It was so detestable a sin in the eyes of God that deathby stoning was the punishment inflicted on its practitioners (Lev. 20:13).The New Testament describes this sexual sin as one of the terrible consequences of humanitys rebellion against the lordship of God in Romans1:1832. In verses 2628 the apostle writes:For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and in the same way alsothe men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in theirown persons the due penalty of their error. And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do thosethings which are not proper.

Homosexuality was as widespread during New Testament times as it was in the Old Testament era; thus Pauls references to it in Romans 1:2628and 1 Timothy 1:910.John White writes that Homosexuality is a problem common to both sexes. Homo means alike or equal to. It does not refer to maleness.Lesbianism is simply a word used to describe female homosexuality.5Homosexual activity does not have its primary origin in the biological make-up of certain men or women. It is primarily learned behavior.6Whatever is learned can, with help if needed, be unlearned. Therefore homosexuals can unlearn this sinful sexual behavior just as heterosexuals whopersistently commit immorality must unlearn theirs.The Bible does not specifically deal with the social versus the biological origins of homosexuality. It simply presents it as sin and condemns itspractice. Many secular authorities make it clear that no one is born homosexual, as many homosexuals affirm. In a thorough article called TheHomosexual In America in Time, October 31, 1969, the writers affirm that22 2. William E. Vine, An Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words (London: Oliphants, 1953) 4:166167.33 3. John White, Eros Defiled: The Christian and Sexual Sin (Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity, 1977).44 4. Walter C. Kaiser, Toward Old Testament Ethics (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 1983), 118.55 5. White, 105.66 6. We are now witnessing attempts to approve of homosexuality by declaring it is primarily due to brain functions. Thus it isbiologically based, not learned behavior. That some life-long homosexuals may occasionally reveal unusual brain patterns doesnot prove homosexuality is a biologically determined sexual pattern. It is just as possible that the brain patterns (if they trulyexist) are the result of intense continual, long-term homosexual abuse.

The only thing most experts agree on is that homosexuality is not a result of any kinky gene or hormone predispositionsat least none that can be detected bypresent techniques. . . . The diverse psychological components of masculinity and femininitygender role identityare learned.Gender is like language, says Johns Hopkins University Medical Psychologist John Money: Genetics ordains only that language can develop, not whether itwill be Nahuatl, Arabic or English.This does not mean that homosexuality is latent in all mature humans, as has been widely believed from a misreading of Freud. In American culture, sex roles aremost powerfully determined in the home, and at such a young age (generally in the first few years of life), that the psychological identity of most homosexualslike that of most heterosexualsis set before they know it. 7

Homosexuality is not a different but acceptable lifestyle for human beings and especially not for Christians. In light of Matthew 5:2730,homosexual fantasizing is sinful and all homosexual pornography must be resisted.Homosexual conduct is completely forgivable along with all other sins, however. The Lord Jesus lists only one unpardonable sin, and it is nothomosexuality (Matt. 12:3132).Christians with severe homosexual bondage need a support group to help them into freedom. Work with homosexuals reveals this need. Fewhomosexuals, even Christian ones, will make it alone. They need to confess their bondage to an understanding friend and support group.8Homosexual bondage both in the imagination and in practice is one of the most oppressive forms of sexual bondage known to man.Homosexual Bondage in Biblical TimesHomosexuality was widespread in biblical times in both the Old and New Testament periods. Worst of all such activities were supported andencouraged by the nature-fertility cults and religions of the day.9 While the fertility cults in their more idealistic form featured heterosexual culticprostitution, it also included homosexual activities, along with bestiality and other almost indescribable sexual evils.10John McClintock and James Strong write that the Hebrew word translated sodomite in the King James Version of the Old Testamentwas employed . . . for those who practiced as a religious rite the abominable and unnatural vice from which the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah have definedtheir lasting infamy . . . This dreadful consecration [of the male prostitutes to the gods] or rather, desecration, was spread in different forms over Phoenicia (theland of Canaan), Syria, Phrygia, Assyria and Babylonia. Ashtaroth, the Greek Astarate, was its chief object. It appears also to have been established at Rome. 11

Some of the converts from the pagan religions of Pauls day had been practicing homosexuals. Writing to the Corinthian church the apostle says:Or do you not know that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, noreffeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some ofyou; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and in the Spirit of our God. (1 Cor. 6:911)

In this passage Paul lists the sins common in the Gentile world of his day especially prevalent in Corinth and other centers of commerce andpagan religious shrines and temples. Ellicott writes thatThe mention of gross sensual sins (fornication, adultery and two words for homosexuality, effeminate and homosexuals) in connection with idolaters point to thefact that they were particularly associated in the ritual of the heathen, which, of course, intensified the danger against which the Apostle warns the Corinthians. 12(Rom. 8:13; Gal. 5:1920; 1 Tim. 1:910; Titus 1:12)77 7. Time (October 31, 1969). While this is an older article than I would prefer to quote, its analysis of homosexuality in the U.S.is unsurpassed. Its conclusions are still held by many secular counselors working with homosexuals. Since it is written by nonChristians we would not agree with all of its ethical conclusions since they are not based on Christian ethics but situation ethics.88 8. White, 103139.99 9. E. M. Yamauchi, Fertility Cults in ZPEB 2:531532.1010 10. Kaiser, 195199; see R. L. Alden, Sodom in ZPEB 5:466468.1111 11. Rev. John McClintock and James Strong, Encyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature (New York:Harper and Brother Publishers, 1891) 9:857858.1212 12. Charles John Ellicott, A Bible Commentary for English Readers (New York: Cassell and Company, 1954) 7:304.

The Greek word malakos translated effeminate has troubled commentators. All effeminate men are not homosexuals, just as all masculinewomen are not lesbians. Its contextual use here, however, would imply some gross form of sexual sin, probably involving non-heterosexual sexualsin.Vine says it is used here not simply of a male who practices forms of lewdness, but persons in general, who are guilty of addiction to sins of theflesh, voluptuous.13 G. G. Findlay agrees, saying it signifies general addiction to sins of the flesh.14F. W. Grosheide takes a stronger stand, however. He says the words effeminate men and abusers of themselves with men designate passive andactive homosexuals respectively.15The idea of fixed passive and active roles in homosexuality is a stereotype not compatible with the facts, John White says. Homosexuals can anddo change roles at will.16 However, although one cannot be certain that both malakos (effeminate) and arsenokoitai (abusers of themselves withmankind) refer to passive and active roles in homosexuality, the evidence would point in that direction.Gordon D. Fee, writing in his commentary on 1 Corinthians, says that the evidence supports Grosheides position. Effeminate probably refersto young men who sold themselves to older men as their mistresses, and to young cult prostitutes who took the more passive role. He supports theNIV which translates the words neither male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders.17No matter how we view some of these words, the widespread practice of homosexuality is probably referred to here twice (1 Cor. 6:9). This, with1 Corinthians 5:911, would form the apostles list of the sinful conduct the Corinthians were guilty of before coming to Christ.William Barclay says the following about the word pornoi, translated fornicators in 1 Corinthians 6:9, The word that is used for fornicators isan especially unpleasant word, it means male prostitute. It must have been hard to be a Christian in the tainted atmosphere of Corinth. 18Barclay records some interesting suggestions on the word malakos translated effeminate in the KJV and NAS. He translates it sensualists andhas some insightful comments on abusers of themselves with mankind (KJV) and arsenokoitai, translated homosexuals (NAS):19We have left the most unnatural sin to the endthere were those who were homosexuals. This was the sin which had swept like a cancer through Greek life andwhich, from Greece, invaded Rome. We can scarcely realize how riddled the ancient world was with it.Even so great a man as Socrates practiced it; Platos dialogue The Symposium is always said to be one of the greatest works on love in the world, but its subjectis not natural but unnatural love. Fourteen out of the first fifteen Roman Emperors practiced unnatural vice.At this very time Nero was emperor. He had taken a boy called Sporus and had had him castrated. He had then married him with a full ceremony and took himhome in procession to his palace and lived with him as wife . . .In this particular vice in the time of the Early Church the world was lost to shame; and there can be little doubt that that was one of the main causes of itsdegeneracy and the final collapse of its civilization.

The apostle begins 1 Corinthians 6:11 with the words and such were some of you. Findlay says that kai tauta tines, etc., means and these

things you were, some (of you). The neuter tauta is contemptuous, such abomination were some of you.20 Ellicott translates them of such adescription were some of you.21Paul follows the bad news with the good by revealing Gods fivefold transforming power which set them free from bondage to the terrible sins ofverses 910.First, he says, you were washed. Matthew Henry explains this washing as referring to the blood of Christ and the washing of regeneration,(which) can purge away all guilt and defilement.22 Leon Morris concurs by saying that while many commentators see here a reference to baptism,there is nothing in the context to indicate it. He writes:23The verb apelousasthe . . . is in the middle voice, with a force something like, you got yourself washed (as in Acts 22:16). . . . The word may signify the kind ofwashing we see in Revelation 1:5: Unto Him that loved us and washed us from our sins in His blood. The prefix apo points to the complete washing away ofsins. The tense is past, the aorist referring to a decise action.

Second, and third Paul says you were sanctified, . . . justified.

Matthew Henry calls this a rhetorical change of the natural order, between sanctification and justification. I will return to this point in amoment.24Fourth and fifth, the apostle says their sanctification and justification came in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and in the Spirit of our God.The use of the name in biblical times was much more complex than its similar use in the Western world. At times it can be a difficult concept tograsp. It takes W. C. Kaiser, Jr. seven double-columned pages in the Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible to explain its use in Scripture andthe culture of the biblical world.25Perhaps Morris short comment will suffice in reference to the name of Jesus and the Holy Spirit for now. We will examine the biblical concept ofthe name of our study of Acts.26The name brings before us all that is implied in the character of the Lord, while the full title The Lord Jesus Christ brings out the dignity of Him whom we serve.To this is joined the Spirit of our God. There is a power manifest in Christian living, and that power is not human. It is a divine power, given by the very Spirit ofGod Himself.It is curious that this reference follows that of sanctification. It may be that Paul felt that sanctification required special stress. . . . The God who has justified themwill surely provide them with the power needed to carry through their sanctification.

Matthew Henrys comment is inspiring.27

Sanctification is mentioned before justification and yet the name of Christ, by which we are justified, is placed before the Spirit of God by whom we are sanctified.Our justification is owing to the merit of Christ; our sanctification to the operation of the Spirit; but both go together. Note, none are cleansed from the guilt of sinbut those who are also sanctified by His Spirit. All who are made righteous in the sight of God are made holy by the grace of God.

Thus there is hope for the homosexual. While homosexuality exerts an awful, disabling power over the lives of countless men and women, thejustifying, sanctifying, transforming power of the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and the Spirit of our God is greater. I close this point with abeautiful extended quote from William Barclay:28The proof of Christianity lay in its power. It could take the dregs of humanity and make men out of them. It could take men lost to shame and make them sons ofGod.There is the most amazing contrast between the pagan and the Christian literature of the day. Seneca, a contemporary of Paul, cries out that what men want is ahand let down to lift them up. Men, he declared, are overwhelmingly conscious of their weakness in necessary things. Men love their vices, he said with akind of despair, and hate them at one and the same time. He looked at himself and called himself a homo non tolerabilis, a man not to be tolerated. Into thisworld, conscious of a tide of decadence that nothing could stop, there came the sheer radiant power of Christianity, which was indeed triumphantly able to make allthings new.

While not minimizing the incredible binding power of homosexuality and homosexual fantasizing, I want to declare emphatically that Godspower is available to all practicing homosexuals and to all those who are plagued by homosexual lusts. The God who made new creations out ofhomosexuals in Pauls day is in the same regenerating business today (2 Cor. 5:17).A Modern Case StudyA very good friend was brought to Christ while she was a practicing lesbian. She was part of the street youth culture which characterizedHollywood in the 1960s. She had been faithful to her lesbian lover for five years. She told me the following story of her conversion and the gradualhealing of her sexuality.A group of Christians were witnessing for Christ near Hollywood and Vine. As they shared the gospel I began to hunger to know God as theydid. For the first time in my life I understood Gods love for me. I was thrilled. God loved me, even me. Jesus loved me so much he gave his life onthe cross for me, even me.I received Him on the spot and went home filled with peace. I sensed great joy at the reality of his love for me. Like the woman taken in adultery(John 8:111), He did not condemn me but forgave me. To me He spoke those immortal words, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more(KJV).The people who led me to Christ did not know about my lesbian partner. They said nothing about homosexuality. As I went home, however, Godspoke to my heart. I knew the union was unacceptable in His eyes. I knew I would have to break off the relationship if I were to live in His kingdom.Though it was one of the most difficult things I have ever done in my life, I did what I knew was Gods will. My partner did not understand. She washeartbroken. I was too, but I left.I associated with the group of Christian young adults who had brought the gospel to me. In time I was able to tell them about my homosexualproblem. They became my family and support group. I would not have survived if it were not for their support. They taught me the Word of God andhow to pray and witness for my Savior.I went through an emotional storm for almost three years. I did not know how strong the homosexual emotions were in my mind, body,imagination, and my very being. Sometimes I did not know if I would make it, but by Gods grace I did.I abstained from all sexual relationships. When the yearnings came upon me I would call out to the Lord for His strength and He was faithful.Also I shared with my Christian support group when the temptations became almost unbearable.2828 28. Barclay, 6062. This is a good reminder in our day when a new focus on Gods miraculous power has arisen amongevangelicals. While extremes do exist, some of the evangelical opposition to this power emphasis is totally unfounded both fromthe perspective of Scripture and contemporary Christian experience (see Murphy, Spiritual Gifts and the Great Commission, 1975,100129; Wm. Carey).

God slowly began to change my sexual orientation. This meant he had to transform me totally, especially emotionally. Our sexuality is sointerwoven with our emotions, our self-image, our mind, our will, that this transformation went to the very root of my personality.I realized my sexual orientation was not primarily biological. It was environmental, emotional, and the result of wrong choices I had made overa period of time. By Gods grace I realized I could change to respond sexually to men, not to women. The change seemed to move through threeoverlapping stages.First I began to see women differently. They were my sisters, not my lovers. Gradually I began to lose the sexual drive towards other women.Next, I began to notice men in a positive manner for the first time. Some of the brothers were so beautiful as men and as my close friends, Ibegan to lose the negative male orientation that I had known before.Lastly, I began to feel sexual attraction towards men. This was a miracle. The thought of a sexual relationship with a man before this was asrepugnant to me as a homosexual relationship is to a heterosexual man or woman.I didnt begin to fantasize having sex with every attractive man I met. That too would have been sinful. But I could now accept the fact thatmarriage to a fine Christian man would be acceptable. I began to look forward to that possibility as any normal woman does.When this change began, I knew that I was truly a new creation in Christ. Sin had degraded me into something dishonoring to God. He gave mywomanhood back to me. I love Him with all my heart.Few practicing homosexuals are instantly set free from their homosexual orientation. To promise them this is to deceive them. It is both withoutbiblical basis and contrary to the churchs two thousand years of experience.There are exceptions, however, especially if there is a direct demonic dimension to the homosexual problem. Even if the homosexual isdemonized and homosexual demons are cast out of his life, the rebuilding of his or her sexuality is usually a process, not the result of a fewdeliverance sessions.One important note brought out by my sisters testimony is the necessity of a support group if one is going to see the addiction of homosexualitybroken in their life.29 Addiction thrives on isolation, says a former homosexual. Once we establish a personal support system and we accept thegrace of Christ, the power of any addiction will weaken, even that of homosexuality.30My reborn, former lesbian sister in Christ lived for several years as a godly single young adult after her sexual transformation. In time an amazingthing happened. While actively involved in a ministry to emotionally damaged and disturbed people, a handsome Christian man became part of theministry team with her. A few years ago they were married, and now they have several beautiful children. Both are continuing to be used by God tominister to needy people. What a reward for faithful obedience!

19Homosexuality and Contemporary MinistryThe war with homosexuality is one of the most acute dimensions of spiritual warfare affecting the church today. The organized socio-politicalmovement that has come to the forefront to force acceptance of open homosexuality upon society and the church is the so-called Gay RightsMovement.2929 29. Addiction is a carefully chosen word. Webster defines addiction as the state of being devoted or surrendered tosomething habitually or obsessively. A former homosexual says, Addictions (and homosexuality is an addiction) aredegenerative, a moral cancer. The addiction produces pain so the intensity of the addicted must be increased in order to continuenumbing the pain. . . . Addictions bring frustration and loneliness. . . . Such is the addiction of homosexuality . . . pain . . .frustration and loneliness. (Bob Gentles, Road Back Home from Homosexuality, The Forum [October 1990]).3030 30. Gentles, 5.

As believers we must be fair to homosexuals. We must recognize that the Gay Rights Movement does not represent all of them. While exactfigures would be almost impossible to come by, it is possible that many more homosexuals refuse to participate in this corrupt movement than thosewho do take part.Most homosexuals or individuals who battle with homosexual lusts are not interested in flaunting their sexuality before the media and the masses.They are no more interested in parading down main street half-naked and engaging in shameful sexual actions in public than are heterosexuals. Thusthey are people who merit our love, compassion, and gentle, but firm Christian witness.The Gay Rights Movement, in general, is not a beneficial movement for confused homosexuals, however. It is a demonic movement. I am notaffirming that all members of the movement are demonized. Many are, but not all of them. I am not affirming that all members of the movement areevil people. Many are, but not all of them. Some of their leaders may not be totally committed to unrestrained moral evil. Many are, but probably notall of them.Finally, I am not denying that some members of the Gay Rights Movement are loving, kind, and compassionate people. Many of them are, butnot all of them.What I am affirming is that all of them are sinners whose damaged sexuality has almost become the focal point of their life. They are as enslavedto their distorted sexual drives as were the Nazis to their ethnic perversion as the Master Race. All of this shows evidence of manipulation bydemonic forces.Ronald Fung comments on the last of the group of three moral sins mentioned by Paul in Galatians 5:19. Since there is always overlapping whendescribing the four groups, and since his words are so appropriate to the unrestrained sexual misconduct characteristic of the Gay Rights Movement, Iapply them to the subject at hand. Fung says:The sin of indecency (NEB) may represent and advance on fornication [immorality]; and impurity, for it is vice paraded with blatant impudence andinsolence, without regard for self respect, for the rights and feelings of others, or for public decency. Here precisely is why . . . indecency is such a terrible thing. Itis the act of a character which has lost that which ought to be its greatest defenseits self respect, and its sense of shame. 1

What a picture of the public image the organizers of Gay Rights Days and Gay Rights Parades seek to convey before the world!I live in San Jose, California, only 40 miles from San Francisco. San Francisco, the City by the Bay, is physically one of the loveliest cities inthe world. Situated by the San Francisco Bay and the mouth of the massive Sacramento River and surrounded by lovely, green mountains, it boaststwo of the most spectacular bridges in the world, the breathtaking Golden Gate Bridge and the splendid Bay Bridge. Its skyline both by day and nightis beautiful beyond description.Yet this gem of a city has unfortunately become one of the Gay Rights capitals of the world. Not only do some San Francisco public officialsflaunt their homosexuality before the world, but its annual Gay Rights Day celebration and parade has become one of the most repugnant sexualdisplays in the USA.The annual parade, with its semi-nudity and sensual street dancing before the television cameras, reminds one of Sodom in Genesis 19. Theperversity of its sexual display is so sickening, a sensitive person cannot witness it without feeling physically and emotionally sick and spiritually sadand angry.If heterosexuals were to do in public and on nationwide TV some of the evil the homosexuals engage in during Gay Rights Day they wouldprobably be arrested. Because this brazen, shameless minority is so entrenched in San Francisco culture, public officials fear its wrath. Thus they areallowed to violate the public sense of decency without fear of serious repercussions.Most of the leadership and members of the Gay Rights Movement seem to be persons who have lost their self-respect, their sense of shame,and any consideration for the rights and feelings of others, as Fung pointed out. Such a movement for any so-called cause must be rejected.11 1. Ronald Y. K. Fung, The Epistle to the Galatians (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1989), 255.

The individual members are still the objects of Gods love, however. Therefore they must be the subjects of our love. We must hate what theystand for without hating them as persons.2They are all victims of multidimensional spiritual warfare. They are enslaved to the lusts of the flesh. They are carried along by the world which,confused as it is about right and wrong, supports them, applauds their expression of sexual freedom, and encourages their shame.They are all controlled by the Devil, however. Sexual, rebellion, shame, self-hate, bitterness, and disease demons swarm in and around theirmovement, gleefully inspiring them to ever more flagrant and self-destructive vices. Not even the widespread agony of death by AIDS stops them intheir mad journey towards self-destruction.The present homosexual movement is making a tremendous effort to penetrate our churches and even the pastorate. Their targets are conservativeevangelical churches. This is one of the most serious issues facing the church today.At the time of this writing, the Southern Baptist Convention, the largest Protestant denomination in the USA, has successfully defeated the effortsof some leaders to allow Christian homosexuals to be admitted into the ministry. Three cheers for the Southern Baptists!The Episcopalians have not fared that well, however. In 1990 they accepted into the ministry a practicing lesbian. In a television interview airedin June, 1991, President George Bush, who is an Episcopalian and evidently a genuine believer, expressed his opposition to this action. Three cheersfor President Bush! Shame on the Episcopal bishops who ordained this woman!At the time of writing (1991), the question of the acceptance of homosexual marriages and homosexuals in the ministry is to be finally decidedupon by the Presbyterian Church, USA after years of intense controversy.The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is to be commended for its courage in expelling two San Francisco Lutheran churches in 1990which defied denominational policy and ordained three practicing homosexuals to the pastoral ministry. The Rev. Joseph Wagner, Executive Directorof the Churchs Division for Ministry, said the denomination disagrees with those who contend ordination of homosexuals is a civil rights issue.Wagner makes an excellent distinction between civil rights and ordination responsibility. In the San Jose Mercury News, January 10, 1991, hestated, This Church champions the civil rights of all persons. But ordination is not a civil right. It is a privilege granted by the Church to those whomeet its established standards. Excellent reasoning!Perhaps one of the best summaries of the organized campaign of homosexual Christians to gain full acceptance as both members and pastors ofChristian churches is found in one edition of Pastoral Renewal.3 Though almost ten years old, it is not dated. The April, 1981, leading article isentitled Christian Men and Homosexual Desires. One statement in this excellent article deals with the potential demonic dimension to homosexualbondage, a subject we will consider later in our study.Its important to pray with the man [the homosexual]. It is particularly important to pray for deliverance from the influence of evil spirits. Satan is very active inthis area. Deliverance usually does not produce a change in desires, but it helps the man experiencing the freedom not to be ruled by them.

We must leave behind the repugnance of the Gay Rights Movement and return with compassion to those who battle with homosexual desires orhave fallen into homosexual experiences.While the church thrills at the testimony of adulterers, thieves, or even murderers who come to Christ, let a homosexual come into the light andoften it is a different story. May we learn to love homosexuals with Christs love, a love of understanding and compassion which is directed towardssinners like all of us.

22 2. Christian psychiatrist Dr. M. Scott Peck in his remarkable book People of the Lie admits that Evil people are easy to hate.He then reminds us of Saint Augustines caution that we hate the sin but love the sinner (M. Scott Peck, People of the Lie [NewYork: Simon and Schuster, 1983], 9).33 3. Pastoral Renewal (April, 1981).

I must reiterate that not everyone who has or is engaged in homosexuality is necessarily a homosexual. Dr. John White brings this out in his openconfession of his own homosexual experiences as a child. The homosexual fixation that arose out of that experience accompanied him for years. Hewas never, however, a homosexual. Many persons who engaged in homosexual activities as children or young people are not homosexuals.Usually such persons were led into these experiences by respected older persons or by peers with whom they engaged in sexual experimentation.Often these individuals will fear that they are homosexuals or bisexuals, while they are not.Recently my wife and I were counseling a lovely young lady who was preparing for mission work. She was deeply troubled by a recent briefhomosexual relationship she had been involved in. She was overseas working on a mission station. A careless mission administrator had placed her inan administrative task that was beyond her capabilities or experience. She worked from dawn until nightfall striving faithfully to carry out her duties.Soon she became physically and emotionally exhausted. She felt alone and very vulnerable.An older woman working with her on the mission station would come into the young ladys room during evenings, supposedly to encourage herin her difficult job. Soon she began to hold her hand and hug her, supposedly out of concern for her welfare. The young lady at first was unaware ofwhat was occurring, but as the hugging became more and more sensual, she tried to reject the ladys advances.One night she was so weary, confused, and emotionally upset by her difficult job she did not resist the ladys fondling. Before she knew what wasoccurring they were involved in a homosexual act. She knew it was wrong, but once she was sexually stimulated, there was no turning back. She wastoo much in need of tender, touching love to stop.This continued almost nightly for a period of time. One day the young lady went away from the mission base for rest and reflection. With horrorand shame she came to herself, to use her words, and realized the evil of what she was involved in from Gods perspective. She wept in confessionand repentance before God and recommitted her life, her body and all of its members, including her sexuality, to the lordship of Christ.Shame and self-disgust overwhelmed her. She went to the lady and told her to keep away from her. When the lady refused and insisted theycontinue, the young girl had no recourse but to go to one of the mission leaders, confess her sin, and ask for protection from the aggressive older lady.The older lady was dismissed from her mission work. The young girl voluntarily left, feeling unqualified to continue as a missionary. Theemotional scars and shame continued for some time until the Lord met her in a wonderful manner and assured her of his forgiveness.In time she applied to another mission as a career missionary. She felt she had to make them aware of her sin and trust the Lord for her future.One of the mission directors, knowing of my counseling ministry with troubled people, asked me to meet her. I asked permission for my wife to bewith me, and it was granted.It was not difficult to establish the fact that the young lady was not homosexual. Indeed, she was attracted to men in a normal way and repelled byeven the memory of her brief, homosexual relationship. She was a lovely, Spirit-filled Christian, anxious to please the Lord. Also, while praying thatsome day God would send a godly man into her life, she had accepted her present singleness. She had learned important lessons through her pastexperience, however.This was several years ago. She is doing well as a single missionary. She is part of a strong support group so that some of her needs for love andfriendship are being met. Just because she became trapped in a brief, homosexual relationship by an aggressive, older woman did not make herhomosexual. The same is true of many persons who have fallen into the same trap.If the sympathetic reader wants to understand at even deeper levels the warfare a homosexual Christian can go through in finding wholeness inChrist read Don Bakers 1985 shocker, Beyond Rejection: The Church, Homosexuality and Hope. To better understand what the book is all about Iquote from the books foreword:Homosexuals cant change.Its a lie that has permeated our society. Its accepted as a fact within many churches. Most tragic of all, many Christians who struggle with homosexuality haveembraced it as reality.

But the heart of the gospel is the hope of new life for all who seek it, including homosexuals. This is the story of one mans victory in embracing that new way oflife.4

Frank Worthen, director of Love in Action and author of the foreword, describes the story the book tells as one of incredible discouragement anddefeat, of a loving wife who clings to hope, of friends who gave sacrificially of themselves, and finally of one man lifted from a tangled web of sinby the power and grace of God. . . . May this book be a beacon of hope to thousands of men and women who have been defeated by homosexualitybut who know in their hearts that Jesus Christ can set them free.5Unfortunately, homosexual drives are also among the least understood and the least tolerated by the church.The church is to love the most unloved. In the eyes of many believers, homosexuals (and child abusers) are to be detested. This attitude delightsSatan and his evil spirits. For years they have been telling damaged people who battle with homosexual problems that the church hates them and willnot receive them. Their job is not at all difficult. Many Christians become their duped allies, parroting Satans lie that homosexuals are to be scornedand rejected.In October, 1962, Eternity magazine published an article entitled Homosexuality by Dr. Lars I. Granberg, Professor of Psychology and ClinicalPsychologist at Hope College. The subject was so controversial the editors did everything but apologize for even publishing the article. They wrote:6Several months ago, a Christian young man wrote us about his problem of homosexuality. A few months later, another man wrote us on the same subject; and stilllater, a missionary who was struggling with this problem wrote us.Gradually, we came to realize that this was a bigger problem than we had imagined. . . . We have refrained from discussing this subject for some time, and evennow we are aware that we will be charged with sensationalism or crudeness for doing so. However, the problem of homosexualityeven in evangelical circlescannot be denied.

While openness to the question of homosexuality among Christians and Christian leaders has certainly made some progress since 1962, we stillhave a long way to go. As a result, thousands of unchurched homosexuals avoid our evangelical churches like the plague. Believers with confusedhomosexual tendencies remain locked in their prisons of guilt and helplessness, not knowing where to go to find help.While it would be inaccurate to affirm that all practicing homosexuals are demonized, as some brethren have done, the demonic activity in thehomosexual movement is very strong.7 Many individual homosexuals are demonized, some severely soeven Christians. All are in desperate need offinding the full freedom that is their birthright in Christ. May we be faithful in loving them with Christs love, gaining their confidence, leading themto Jesus, and helping them to find a support group within all our churches!44 4. Don Baker, Beyond Rejection: The Church, Homosexuality and Hope (Portland, Ore.: Multnomah, 1985), 3.55 5. For someone struggling with homosexuality or interested in knowing where to find help for friends who are, I list some of theoutstanding Christian organizations in the U.S. who specialize in helping homosexuals. While there are probably many moregroups, these are the ones I am most familiar with.Love In ActionP.O. Box 2655San Rafael, CA 94912Mentanoia MinistriesP.O. Box33039Seattle, WA 98133LIFE MinistryP.O. Box 353New York, NY 10185Homosexuals Anonymousc/o Guest Learning CenterP.O. Box7881Reading, PA 1960366 6. Eternity (October 1962), 22.77 7. Practicing homosexuals seem more prone to demonization than others who are wrestling with sexual sin. Perhaps it isbecause homosexuality is so totally contrary to human sexuality as created by God. Also it is marked out by the apostle Paul as aunique expression of human rebellion against God as Creator and Father alongside of idolatry (Rom. 1:1828).Strong demonic powers often attach themselves to homosexual bondage, making that bondage even more intense. I will givea case study of a Christian leader indwelt by homosexual demons later in our study. I have dealt with many cases of believersdemonized by homosexual demons.

20AutosexualityUncleanness or impurity covers not only the practice of homosexuality, but also that of self-stimulation, otherwise known as masturbation.1 Websterdefines masturbation as the stimulation of the genital organs to orgasm, achieved by manual or other bodily contact exclusive of sexual intercourse.There would probably be general acceptance among physicians and counselors on this or a similar definition of masturbation. The essence of thepractice then would be bringing about orgasm by any means other than sexual intercourse.Toward a Useful DefinitionI have difficulty with this broad definition, however. That is why I prefer the narrower term sexual self-stimulation. This definition emphasizesself-gratification, a form of narcissism. It is a totally self-centered sexual activity through self-stimulation to the point of orgasm. I also like NormanL. Geislers word for this practice. He calls it autosexuality.2Websters definition would mean that almost all married couples practice masturbation at different times in their married life when full sexualintercourse is not possible or advisable for one of the marriage partners for various reasons. It would also mean that some married couples regularlypractice masturbation, particularly women who are not able to reach orgasm without manual stimulation by their mate. Often when this situationexists there is enough personal trauma without adding to it the idea that masturbation is being engaged in.Psychologist Earl D. Wilson recognizes this reality in his excellent chapter on masturbation in his helpful book Sexual Sanity.3 Wilson writes,Masturbation is necessary for some couples in order to achieve maximum sexual adjustment.When I counsel married couples who face this type of personal problem I never use the word masturbation to refer to their practice. I prefer theterm manual stimulation. Even though we live in an era of so-called sexual liberation, among sensitive Christians there is still shame connectedwith the word masturbation. To heap that shame on an already troubled woman or man is unfair and unwise.My definition of masturbation then would be the practice of self-stimulation to the point of orgasm by whatever means.4 The focus is on selfstimulation. It is a form of self-sex involving a preoccupation with ones own sexual organs and orgasm. Most Christian authors I have read hold to asomewhat more flexible view of autosexuality than I do. However, they recognize many of its inherent dangers.The Bibles SilenceThe Bible says absolutely nothing about this practice. Psychologist Earl Wilson correctly observes:511 1. In my spiritual warfare teaching and counseling I often have to defend giving such prominence to this illicit (in my opinion)sexual practice. I give importance to this aspect of warfare with the flesh because autosexual stimulation is so common amongChristians, even Christian leaders. It is part of the general sexual looseness gaining such control in the church today. Whilewishing to avoid the unhealthy guilt trip produced by rigid, legalistic, and uncompassionate traditional views of masturbation, Ifear encouraging the slide in the opposite direction to be just as dangerous. I believe the biblical commands toward purity ofmind are undermined by our laissez faire attitude towards autosexuality.22 2. Norman L. Geisler, Ethics: Alternatives and Issues (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 1975), 200.33 3. Earl D. Wilson, Sexual Sanity (Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity, 1984), 63.44 4. Psychologist Randy C. Alcorn, in his excellent book already referred to, gives a similar definition of masturbation. He says,Masturbation is the stimulation of ones own sex organs to find sexual pleasure or release (Randy C. Alcorn, Christians in theWake of the Sexual Revolution [Portland, Ore.: Multnomah, 1985], 213).55 5. Wilson, 61.

Masturbation, like many other topics of great personal and social concern, is neither condemned nor condoned in Scripture. In fact, I have not been able to find anydirect scriptural statements about masturbation. Christians have not always been honest about this fact and have tried to give the impression that their opinions onthe subject were fortified with biblical imperatives. Such is not the case.

He then cites the traditional Roman Catholic interpretation of Genesis 38:810.6 Alcorn says it was from this text that masturbation becamelabeled onanism after the supposed masturbation by a man named Onan, but a study of this passage reveals no autosexuality at all. Onan had sexualintercourse with the woman, but just as he reached the point of orgasm he wasted his seed on the ground, in order not to give offspring to hisbrother (v. 9). Alcorn continues saying, The issue was Onans disobedience in refusing to raise up children for his deceased brother, which he wasbound by law and family loyalty to do.7An Appeal to Scriptural PrinciplesIn cases like this where the Bible is silent, we must be guided by broad Scriptural principles concerning sexual practices. Sexuality is a gift ofGod. It is not only necessary for procreation, but is the one act that in the most meaningful manner makes the man and woman one flesh.Intercourse is a kind of marriage, Geisler says:8If it is outside a life-long commitment of love then it is a bad marriage. In fact, it is a sin the Bible calls fornication (cf. Gal. 5:19; 1 Cor. 6:18). The firstreference to marriage declares that man and woman become one flesh (Gen. 2:24), implying that marriage occurs when two bodies are joined. . . . Intercourseinitiates a marriage. If it is not engaged in with a life-long commitment of love, then it was an evil union, an act of fornication.

Geisler considers autosexuality to be generally wrong, and masturbation to be sinful (1) when its only motive is sheer biological pleasure, (2)when it is allowed to become a compulsive habit, and/or (3) when the habit results from inferior feelings and causes guilt feelings. Geisler nextmakes an important statement, Masturbation is sinful when it is performed in connection with pornographic images, for as Jesus said, lust is a matterof the interests of the heart (Matt. 5:28).9Finally Geisler writes that autosexualitycan be right if it is used as a limited, temporary program of self-control to avoid sexual sin before marriage. If one is fully committed to leading a pure life untilmarriage, it may be permissible on occasion to use autosexual stimulation to relieve ones tension. As long as it does not become a habit nor a means of gratifyingones lust, masturbation is not necessarily immoral. In fact, when the motive is not lust but self-control, masturbation can be a moral act (cf. 1 Cor. 7:5; 9:25). . . .Masturbation used in moderation without lust for the purpose of retaining ones purity is not immoral. 10

Problems of AutosexualityI am happy with Geislers first statements about the three ways that autosexuality is wrong. I have trouble with his (and other writers)permissiveness of autosexuality to release sexual lust. First, is autosexuality to become a substitute husband or wife? As any happily married personknows, once you enter into a life of deep sexual fulfillment with your beloved, it is even more difficult to suddenly cut it off because of sickness,forced separation, and death.Second, is autosexuality the only way to avoid lust? Are there not other ways much more in harmony with Scripture with no danger of becominghabit forming as is true with masturbation? Earl Wilson and Randy Alcorn, while generally agreeing with Geisler, make some important observationswhich give balance to our subject. Wilson argues for the biblical emphasis on self-control by saying that if autosexuality was the road to take, why66 6. For a Protestant overview of the Roman Catholic view of this passage and sexual practices which do not lead to procreation,see John White, Eros Defiled: The Christian and Sexual Sin (Downers Grove, Ill.: InverVarsity, 1977), 3637. Roman Catholic bookson sexuality would be primary sources of the Catholic position.77 7. Alcorn, 214.88 8. Geisler, 199.99 9. Geisler, 200.1010 10. Geisler, 200201.

did not the apostle Paul say so in his teachings on sexual self-control in 1 Corinthians 7:89? Why did he not say if one cannot control his sexualdrive let him masturbate? That is what many writers seem to be saying. Wilson says:11One answer seems quite obvious. Masturbation is not a means of self-control. It is often a lack of self-control. Sexual fantasy and masturbation allow a person toengage in mental sex with numerous people. This does not seem compatible with Pauls exhortation to have self-control which we read about earlier in 1Corinthians 6:1213. . . . We kid ourselves when we say we cant live without masturbation. That very statement borders on obsession. We need to face the factthat we are a pleasure-loving people and that masturbation is one way we choose to worship pleasure rather than God.

Wilson continues saying that the second major problem with autosexuality is its depersonalization and quotes the title of John Whitesoutstanding chapter on autosexuality, Sex on a Desert Island. Whites entire argument against autosexuality as a legitimate sexual lifestyle is thatsex is given by God to counteract human loneliness (It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make a helper suitable for him, Gen. 2:18).Autosexuality, however, produces further loneliness. That which was made to bring a man and woman together for life is abused to produce the worstkind of loneliness and isolation.12Your sexual longings are associated with a deeper needthat someone should . . . bring your isolation to an end. . . . Masturbation is to be alone on an island. Itfrustrates the very instinct it gratifies.

Alcorn agrees with the general line of thought developed by Wilson and White. He concludes his chapter on autosexuality with two importantitems.13One, masturbation seems to be a natural part of adolescent self-discovery, particularly among boys. He warns Christian parents not to be upsetif they catch their adolescent children masturbating. Nor should they threaten their children that masturbation will lead to insanity or some kind ofphysical or later emotional maladjustment.Two, persons should not allow autosexuality to become the focus of their life. The guilt, shame and self-hatred as well as anger against God formaking sexual stimulation such a powerful force in human life can cripple a believers life, he says.If we have been guilty of this sin, it is forgivable. If we are in bondage to habitual autosexuality there is a way out. As all these author-counselorssay, as one has chosen to masturbate, he can choose to stop masturbating. If the practice is obsessive and longstanding it may mean real spiritualwarfare to stop, but in Christ we can stop. Alcorn, Wilson, and White suggest simple steps we can take to gain victory over this potentially obsessivehabit.Seven Reasons To Resist AutosexualityI have other reasons why I take a firm stance against autosexuality. I do not accept it as Gods relief value for built-up sexual drive, a commonexpression among Christian leaders with whom I have discussed this issue.First, it is not necessary. I have as strong a sexual interest as any man, but I do not engage in autosexuality. My ministry often has taken me awayfrom my loving wife for months at a time. My intimate sexual relationship with my wife grows deeper, not shallower, with time. After over 40 yearsof marriage she is as desirable to me as ever, even more so. With maturity comes a deeper love for this marvelous woman that God has given me. Itell her continually that next to God himself, she is Gods greatest gift to me.When I am away from her, even when I am alone and desire her love, I do not engage in autosexuality. I choose not to do so. With this God-givenself-control has come wonderful freedom and peace. There is no freedom nor peace in bondage to masturbation.Second, masturbation does not decrease sexual tension; it only increases it. When you stop, your sexual tension will be taken care of by itself ifyou maintain an active life and disciplined physical exercise. Thus one will be tired each night and not need sexual self-stimulation to relax and sleep.Third, autosexual conduct usually involves sexual sin and lust in the fantasy realm even though it may not be focused on any one person.1111 11. Wilson, 6364.1212 12. Wilson, 65; White, 36.1313 13. Alcorn, 216217.

Fourth, autosexuality fixates on ones own sexual organs and sexual desires, the opposite of a shared sexual relationship with ones mate.Fifth, it is habit forming. I am not saying that occasional self-stimulation will inevitably become an obsessive habit. Experience proves that is notso. No one, however, ever becomes bound by a habit which did not begin at a given point and continue with more and more frequency. This is theonly way autostimulation can ever become a sexual bondage. Thus, the only sure way to avoid the possibility of habit and bondage is never to begin.Sixth, in almost every form of sexual bondage from promiscuity to homosexuality and pornography, autosexual stimulation plays a central part.Probably all sexaholics are addicted to masturbation. To my memory, in every counseling case I have had with men or women who are in sexualbondage, masturbation has been involved. Some men and women cannot enjoy a normal satisfying sexual relationship with their mates butcontinually masturbate.Finally, there can be a definite demonic dimension to uncontrolled masturbation. I have cast demons of masturbation out of the lives of sexuallybound men and women. I am not saying that demons are directly attached to the lives of all those in bondage to autosexual practices, nor am I sayingdemons are attached to the lives of most persons addicted to such practices. I am saying that they can become attached to the life of anyone inbondage to this unwise sexual practice. Such persons need counseling, but they also need deliverance.Bondage to masturbation is spiritual warfare. The desire may first come from within, warfare with the lusts of the flesh. It can also come directlyfrom without, warfare with a sex-crazed world. Finally, it often comes from above, warfare with sexual demons who tempt us to unwise or illicitsexual activity (1 Cor. 7:5).A fellow missionary with whom I often travel in ministry was experiencing increased sexual loneliness during his frequent absences from hiswife. He had never practiced masturbation beyond a few experiences as an adolescent. As he shared his loneliness with two missionary friends, bothwere amazed that he did not try masturbation as a means of temporary relief while away from home. They both said they did. They affirmed it wasGods relief valve for pent-up sexual desires.My friend began to follow their advice, at first infrequently. Then it became more and more often, especially in the evenings while bathing oralone in bed. While it provided some relief, it actually made him feel very insecure. Mental images of what he was doing would cross his mind at themost inopportune times, often while he was praying and reading Scripture or preaching. He felt that he must stop. He did for a while; then the desirewould come upon him stronger than ever.Eventually he became quite disturbed by his lack of sexual self-control. His habit seemed to increase his sexual desires instead of decreasingthem. One night while in bed the desire came upon him with the greatest intensity he had ever known. Suddenly he became aware of an evil presencein the room with him. He was only beginning to learn the demonic dimension of spiritual warfare, but he sensed it was Satan. He remembered James4:78:Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you.

He began to resubmit his sexuality and sexual organs to God, including his mind, his emotions, and his will. He then began to resist the Devil andhis sexual demons, out loud. He took his position as reigning with Christ above all principalities and powers of evil. He claimed his victory throughthe one who had defeated Satan and his evil spirits on the Cross.Within a few minutes the evil presence left. The uncontrollable sexual passion was now under control. He then drew near to the Lord in praise,worship, and thanksgiving. The Lord, as He promised, drew near to him (James 4:78). He did not masturbate that night. Though this occurred sometwenty years ago he has never masturbated since then. Though he still travels in a worldwide ministry usually without his wife, he has had noproblem with masturbation or even strong temptations toward masturbation since that day. Why risk bondage to sexual self-stimulation whenfreedom is ours in Christ?

21

IndecencyCan the tidal wave of explicit, visual sexuality have a negative, even dangerous, effect on an otherwise moral man? A fellow Christian leader and Iwere discussing this question. He told me the following story.It can, because it happened to me. I have always lived a very moral life both as a youth and as an adult. I stayed away from sexual sins as a teeneven though they were so common among my peers. In fact, even though I was not yet a Christian, I tried to choose friends who had similar moralconvictions.Now, I was attracted to girls like any other teenager. I had seen enough pictures of the female body to know how attractive it is, even though Istayed away from all forms of pornography. I knew pornography would only awaken desires that could not be fulfilled outside of marriage so it was ano-no for me.One day a carnival came to our city. A group of us high school kids went to it to have some fun. We noticed a large group gathered in front of asmall theater. Entrance was free, so we decided to go in. Soon some young women came on stage. They began to dance very sensually. We alllaughed. Some of the crowd began to yell for the girls to take it all off. To my surprise, they began to expose their bodies. All of a sudden I feltsexual arousal move through my body in a way I had never known before.The high school girls who were with us began to blush. Some were so embarrassed they got up and left. Others stayed, probably not knowingwhat to do. The boys were all enjoying it, and much to my embarrassment I have to confess I did also.Suddenly the girls stopped dancing. The announcer said that for a few dollars any of us could come behind stage to another theater where theyoung dancers would take it all off.By that time I was so stimulated by what I had seen, I only wanted to see more. With the other guys I paid my money and went to the theaterbehind the stage. None of the girls joined us. I saw things I had never seen before. The dancers took everything off and danced naked before ourlustful eyes. They were beautiful. I felt sexual desire like I had never experienced before. I didnt want it to stop. I yelled approval with the other guysand men in the theater.As I walked home alone in the dark I was still so sexually stimulated I did not know what to do. Suddenly the thought came to my mind that Iwould like to find a girl, any girl, and have sex with her.Thank God no young girl was walking those dark streets that night. While I am too gentle of a person to ever think of raping a girl, I dont knowwhat would have happened if I had found one alone and available that night.That was the first and last time I ever allowed myself to be exposed to total female nudity outside of marriage. Dont tell me such exposure doesnot have a potentially dangerous effect on an emotionally healthy male. What if I had been a person more prone to violence or to domination ofothers? What if I had had a sister who loved me enough to do almost anything I asked? What if I had had a date with my girlfriend later that night?What if . . . ?Sexual stimulation for a man is a powerful force for either good or evil. Maintaining a truly moral life in todays sexually saturated culture isreally spiritual warfare.The last of the sexual sins with which we are at war which is mentioned by the apostle Paul in his list in Galatians 5:19 is aselgeia, in Greek. It istranslated lasciviousness in the KJV, indecency in the NEB, and debauchery in the NIV. All this reveals a search in English for one word that bestexpresses the meaning of aselgeia.

William Vine says the word means absence of restraint, indecency, wantonness . . . the prominent idea is shameless conduct.1 It is used severaltimes in the New Testament with Vines idea of self-abandonment to vice, corruption, and unrestrained illicit sexual behavior without concern for thefeelings of others. In Ephesians 4:1719 Paul talks of people whowalk in the futility of their mind, being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of thehardness of their heart; and they, having become callous have given themselves over to sensuality, for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness.

What an indictment of the world into which Jesus came and the gospel first penetrated! It sounds like San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, andNew York City.The word is used again in Romans 13:13. Paul writes, Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexualpromiscuity and sensuality (our word aselgeia also translated sensuality in Gal. 5:19, NAS).Fung says, the word is paired with debauchery. The NAS accurately calls it sexual promiscuity from the Greek word which means bed,especially the marriage bed, here meaning illicit intercourse and thus takes on the special nuance of sexual excess.2While the apostle Paul was writing for us, he was primarily writing to the believers of his day. The verses, like those mentioned in Ephesians4:1719, describe the condition of the Gentile world of Galatia and all of the Roman Empire in Pauls day. Fung suggests that Paul begins his lists ofsins with sexual sins because they were so prevalent in current society:3Such evidence has come not from Christian writers but from pagans who were disgusted with the unspeakable sexual immorality. Not surprisingly has it been said,In nothing did early Christianity so thoroughly revolutionize the ethical standards of the pagan world as in regard to sexual relationship.

Fungs last words about the transforming impact of the Christian faith on the sexual standards of the pagan world stir me to the depths of mybeing when I consider the widespread sexual compromise with hypocrisy, adultery, homosexuality, and pornography among Christian leaders today.As leaders they have, at least by implication, said with the apostle Paul, Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ (1 Cor. 11:1; 4:1617). InPhilippians 3:17 and Hebrews 13:7,17 Paul says all Christian leaders are to be the model for believers to follow. James warns, Let not many of youbecome teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we shall incur a stricter judgment (James 3:1).4Failure to exercise self-control and live in holiness in any area of the believers sexual life is the main thrust of Pauls teaching in this passage.What about men who coerce their wives to participate in sexual practices repulsive to the womans usually more refined nature? It is prohibited. Itis a sin against God and against ones wife. I have counseled many Christian men, among them Christian leaders, who have done perhaps permanentdamage to their wives by this form of male sexual dominance.I think of one outstanding Christian leader whom I have counseled on several occasions. He came from a dysfunctional family but married abeautiful, pure, gentle girl from a stable Christian family.The mans sexual appetite was voracious. He not only wanted sex continually, but wanted his wife to be more passionate and do things that wererepulsive to her. He began to rent the most blatant, X-rated videos of men and women practicing unrestrained sex. He compelled her to look at them.When my wife and I asked her why she submitted to it she said, Because I love him and I was afraid of losing him. This is the most commonreason given by this type of sexually abused wife.Soon the videos became less repulsive to her. Eventually she became dependent upon the explicit sexual acts of the videos to become aroused. Intime her self-image and her sense of female purity became so violated she went into a deep depression and almost committed suicide. Only Gods11 1. W. E. Vine, An Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words (London: Oliphants, 1953) 2:310.22 2. Ronald Y. K. Fung, The Epistle to the Galatians (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1989), 255.33 3. Fung, 255256.44 4. I am not commenting on whether or not the sexually fallen or deceptive Christian leader should ever be allowed a place ofpublic and strategic leadership in the church. Personally, I could not do it. I would feel that I had disqualified myself from any highvisibility leadership role in light of 1 Timothy 3:17 and Titus 1:511. This is an opinion, not a certainty I would apply to all cases.

tender grace and transforming power rescued both her and her husband from the pit into which they had pulled each other. Today they have fallen inlove anew and enjoy a tender love life freed from the bondage to such sexual perversion.5 Theirs was a long and painful recovery, however.The above story involving the sexual abuse inflicted by an otherwise godly Christian leader on his wife sets the stage for a summary of a casestudy in this examination of the sexual sins listed by Paul in Galatians 5:19. It is called Video Seduction, the confessions of a Christian leader whofell into the trap of video pornography. It appeared in Moody Monthly several years ago.6The article retraces the path that took this Christian leader to the brink of an abyss of destruction. It began, innocently enough, with the gift of avideo cassette recorder meant to be used to enhance his ministry.At first, he and his family viewed only Walt Disney classics. But as he browsed for family movies at the video shop, an exciting selection of fastaction adventure movies caught his eye. So, in addition to the family-type movie, he chose one of a more mature theme for him and his wife toenjoy after the children went to bed.He enjoyed the action in these films, but doubts nibbled at him when the actors swore, or the scantily clad actresses and actors engaged in scenesportraying sexual immorality. Most of these movies, rated PG, were 90 percent wholesome entertainment, however.One day the suggestive picture and title on the carton lured him to rent an R-rated picture. Soon he was watching two of these movies everyweekend, then mid-week, too. He observed that although I continued my personal devotions out of habit, I knew that my reading of Scripture andprayer was a sham. My enthusiasm for teaching and preaching the Bible waned. I lost boldness in speaking on biblical commands against sexualimmorality.In spite of his determination not to view another R-rated movie, the sensuous titles and alluring pictures drew him to view these movies weekafter week. Only his wifes moral sensitivity and presence in the home kept him from renting the X-rated movies he yearned to see.Then his wife went away for a weekend. At the video shop he justified his rental of the X-rated movie by rationalizing, Perhaps as a Christianleader I should be aware of what the world is consuming.But what he saw portrayed in the movie disgusted him. What I saw was ugly, he says. The film degraded men and women. The beauty ofhuman sexuality as God designed it and as I had experienced it in marriage was absent. I felt empty, cheated, and defeated.Shocked into realizing he was in danger of destroying his life and his ministry, that night he destroyed his video rental card, wrote a note ofconfession to his wife, repented before the Lord, and decided before God to stay out of video shops. Later, he made himself accountable to arespected pastor-friend to monitor his spiritual life.He suggests the following to avoid misuse of a video recorder: Stay out of secular video shops; dont watch video movies alone; limit yourviewing; cultivate Gods attitude towards the things shown on video such as lies, bloodshed, and evil scheming; use the standard set by Paul inPhilippians 4:8 when selecting films.This is a powerful word of warning to all believers, a caution light to Christian leaders. The eyes are the gateway to our imaginations. Ourimagination is a key to our life. Be careful, little eyes, what you see.Ours is a sexually polluted society. Sexual scenes and words which before were seen and heard only in sleazy sub-groups of Western societynow enter our living room through television and videos.55 5. There were very direct demonic dimensions to the husbands sexual bondage. Not until the sexual and other demons wererecognized and expelled from his life over a period of time did he become free so as to respond to non-confrontive Christiancounseling. His spiritual warfare was more than warfare with the flesh (his distorted and perverse sexual lusts), warfare with theworld (the world of media which produced the wild sexual films he watched and the world of business which makes such morallyfilthy videos available in video shops which are open to the public), but very strong warfare with evil supernaturalism. He wasdemonized from childhood due to severe sexual abuse he had been subjected to as a child.66 6. Anonymous, Video Seduction, Moody Monthly (May, 1987), 2830.

Soap operas during the daytime; sexually explicit situation comedies in the evening; partial to almost complete nudity often accompanied bysexual violence against women on prime time television; Madonna and Cher on MTV7 any hour of the day or night: Sex! Sex! Sex! We are beingbrainwashed into believing that man cannot live by bread alone, but by every sexual act possible. Yet many scholars and researchers assure usthat all of this has no real negative impact on children, young people, and adults.Normal people can handle it without it affecting their moral values and their view of sex, marriage, and, especially, women, we are told. Onlyabnormal people are negatively affected by all of these sexually explicit sights, actions, and words.Tell that to the girls and women raped by men and boys stimulated almost beyond self-control by the sexual pollution of films, television,videos, and pornography. Tell that to the wives and girl friends forced by their husbands and boy friends to witness explicit sex on rented videos. Tellthat to the millions of men in bondage to pornography and autosexuality. Tell that to the adult survivors of sexual child abuse, perpetrated by theirloved ones, trusted friends, and other authority figures inflamed by the exploitation of their sexuality by the media. If this occurs only withemotionally unbalanced people, then the U.S.A. is one of the largest mental institutions in the world!Let us join Job and say, I have made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a girl [woman]. Does He [God] not see my ways, and countmy every step? (Job 31:1,4, NIV).If my heart has been enticed by a woman,or if I have looked at my neighbors doorthen may my wife grind another mans grain,and may other men sleep with her.For that would have been shameful,a sin to be judged.It is a fire that burns to destruction.It would have uprooted my harvest.(Job 31:912, NIV)

I believe the beginning of victory in warfare with the sins of the flesh is found in Romans 12:12 and 6:1214. God pleads through the apostlePaul,Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of Gods mercy,to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to GodThis is your spiritual act of worship.Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world,But be transformed by the renewing of your mind.Then you will be able to test and approve what Gods will isHis good, pleasing and perfect will. (Rom. 12:12, NIV)Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal bodySo that you obey its evil desires.Do not offer the parts of your body to sinAs instruments of wickedness,But rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have beenBrought from death to life;77 7. A group of cable television companies in 1991, by their own choice, removed MTV from their TV programming because of theopen sexuality of Madonna and Cher. We salute their sensitivity to this sexual assault upon Americas youth. Oh, that otherswould follow their example!

And offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness.

For sin shall not be your master,Because you are not under law, but under grace.(Rom. 6:1214, NIV)

Yes, Lord, I choose to obey!

22Religious SinsAfter listing the sins a person can commit against ones own body, Paul turns his attention to sins against God. They are the two religious sins ofidolatry and witchcraft or sorcery (NAS). These sins, even if entered into in ignorance, openly invite religious evil spirits into contact with the life ofthe individuals involved. We will have occasion to look at idolatry and witchcraft in a later section of our study. Here we will trace the biblical historyand nature of these sins and examine them primarily as manifestations of the sinful works of the flesh.IDOLATRYThe word idolatry comes from the Greek word eidlolatria. It is a compound word, eidlon, idol and latreia, worship or service.1 Fungsays idolatry owes its meaning, if not its origin as a word, from these two words.2 From his succinct treatment of the character of idolatry in hiscommentary on Galatians, I draw the following ten facts about idolatry that existed by New Testament times:1. It was the typical sin of the Gentiles.2. It was completely opposed to service of the living and true God (1 Thess. 1:9).3. Its fundamental error was in giving reverence and worship to created things instead of the Creator (Rom. 1:25; cf. vv. 1923).4. Idols could refer to the images of the gods (Acts 7:41; Rev. 9:20) or the gods behind the images (1 Cor. 8:4,7; 10:19).5. The term idolatry shares this ambivalence of meaning. It could refer to the worship of the idol itself as a god or of the spiritual beingrepresented by the idol. Both are idolatry and both are forbidden by God (Exod. 20:35). Both also invite evil religious spirits to make their presenceknown.6. Paul regards idols as mere nonentities, yet he recognizes that demonic forces lurk behind them, so that to take part in a pagan sacrificial feastis to become partners with demons (1 Cor. 10:1921).7. Because of this demonic dimension to all forms of idolatry, Paul admonished believers to shun idolatry (1 Cor. 10:14; cf. v. 7; 5:11; Eph. 5:5;Col. 3:5).3 If missionaries ignore or are unaware of this demonic dimension to idolatry, they will face serious problems both in the evangelization ofidolaters and in leading the new converts to victory in Christ. Both power and truth encounter will have to occur.48. Sexual immorality and idolatry are strongly connected in the Bible. This is often true today as the phallic symbols in the temples of Indiaindicate.9. As a result, the typical idol worshiper in biblical times committed both a religious sin and a sexual sin whenever he participated in specificreligious ceremonies. This was especially true when the religion featured cultic-ritual prostitution, like the worship of Aphrodite, the love goddess ofCorinth.11 1.22 2.33 3.44 4.

10. In the broadest sense, idolatry is the worship of anything which usurps the rightful place of God. Thus Paul speaks of the ruthless greedwhich is nothing less than idolatry (Col. 3:5).Idolatry in the Old TestamentThe Old Testament has much more to say about the idolatrous practices of the surrounding pagan world than does the New Testament. Theidolatry of the New Testament was nothing more than a further development of what began in the ancient world. I will lean heavily on two masterfuloverviews of idolatry. The first is done by P. H. Garber in the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia.5 The second was done by F. B. Huey, Jr., inthe Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible.6Garber first looks at the word idol, then idolatry. Since we are approaching the subject from the biblical, not the comparative religion perspective,we will use many biblical references. Garber begins with a long list of the Old and New Testament words used to refer to idols and idolatry. There aresome twenty-five Hebrew words used for idols and three or four used for idolatry. The New Testament confines itself to a few basic words for bothidols and idolatry. We will look at the five most common ones.First is eidlon, the word more frequently used for idols and several of its cognates. Second is eidlothyton, used specifically for meats offeredto idols. Third is eidlolatria, the word we already looked at in Galatians 5:20. It is also used in Pauls well-developed polemic against idols and

idolatry in 1 Corinthians 10:733. Fourth is the word kateidlos. It appears only in Acts 17:16 in the context of Pauls difficult ministry in Athens. Hefound the city full of idols.Finally, there is the word eikns used in Romans 1:23. Here is one of the apostle Pauls strongest condemnations of all idolatry and imageworship. He says humanity in general exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image (eikns) in the form of corruptible man and ofbirds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.Garber says one Hebrew word for idols is derived from zana which means to have illicit intercourse. Its sexual connotations suggest theinvolvement of cultic prostitutes, a regular feature of Canaanite pagan worship (and later Greco-Roman cults).In the Old Testament, the dangers represented by idols and idolatry reflected the area of major concern by God and His appointed leaders. Eventhe strong prohibition against intermarriage with the pagan peoples in the land of Canaan was primarily because of the religious and moral corruptionthat this practice would and did bring into Israel.The awful destruction of the cities and peoples of Canaan by the Jews which God commanded was essentially because of the total commitment ofthese peoples to idolatry and the unbelievable religious and immoral practices associated with it. Those practices included heterosexual andhomosexual ritual sexual orgies and, most shocking of all, human sacrifice. The worshipers primarily sacrificed their own children. ContemporarySatanic Ritual Abuse (SRA) of children in modern Satanism and satanic cults widespread in the U.S.A. and other parts of the Western world seemsconnected with the popular revival of ancient paganism rooted in these ancient, evil practices.Garber says the familiarity of the Hebrews with various forms of idolatry and foreign deities was due to various factors. One crucial factor wasthe pagan background out of which Israel itself sprang (Genesis 1112:3). Abrahams family were idolaters, probably worshipers of Sin, the moongod. Some of its most important cultic centers were in Ur and Haran, the cities where Abraham was raised.The second factor was the geography of Palestine in Old Testament times. Israel rubbed elbows with peoples totally given to polytheism andidolatry in some of the worst forms which have ever existed. The primary people were the Syrians, Phoenicians, Egyptians, Philistines, and the55 5. P. H. Garber, Idol in G. W. Bromiley, ed. ISBE (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 198991), 2:794800.66 6. F. B. Huey, Jr., Idolatry in Merrill C. Tenney, ed., ZPEB (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 1977) 3:242249.

Canaanites. The latter included a wide variety of peoples whose names all ended in ites (Deut. 7:1) but were often summed up under the one name,Amorite (Gen. 15:16).The Promised Land was located on the main caravan and military route from Egypt in the south to Mesopotamia in the north. The Hittites,Syrians, Babylonians, Assyrians, and Egyptians marched through the land of Palestine from one end to another for both commercial and militarypurposes. Coupled with Israels 400-year sojourn in one of the most idolatrous nations in history, Egypt, this exposed the Jews to all forms of idolatryand religious syncretism.As to Israels battle with idolatry and idolatrous syncretism, there is no lack of material in the Old Testament. It begins in Genesis and continuesthrough the minor prophets, especially Hosea, Amos, Micah, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah.To the protagonists of Hebrew ethical monotheism the worst sins of Gods people were idolatry and idolatrous syncretism, that is, combining theworship of Yahweh with elements of paganism. This almost always included ritual sexual activity of one type or another.Israels greatest sin was syncretism more than the outright rejection of Yahweh.7 The nation worshiped other gods alongside of its worship of thetrue God. This syncretism included both the making of images of these gods, making images to represent Yahweh symbolically, and falling down inworship before them.This is what occurred with the worship of the golden calf after the Exodus from Egypt (Exod. 32). When the calf was made, the leadersproclaimed, This is your god [Yahweh], O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt (v. 4). All Israel knew it was Yahweh alone who hadbrought them out of Egypt. The calf then was to be an image or symbol of Yahweh.The Decalogue (Exod. 20:35; Deut. 5:7) forbade the Jews from fashioning any images as objects of worship. They were not to bow down tothem or worship them (NIV). Since it precluded making any image of any likeness of what is in heaven (v. 4), it precluded the making of anyphysical image or symbol of Yahweh himself. This did not preclude, however, the use of religious art. They were told to place cherubims over theArk of the Covenant, but they were not to bow down before them or in any way venerate them (Exod. 25:1822).There seems to be no period in Israels history when the people were free from the attraction of idolatry and idolatrous syncretism. It occurred inthe patriarchal period (Gen. 31) and while Israel was in Egypt (Josh. 24:14; Ezek. 20:132; 2223).While they had left Egypt, Egypt had not left them. Just before they were ready to enter the Promised Land, their addiction to idolatry and theimmorality that accompanied it led them to play the harlot with the daughters of Moab. The Moabites invited them to the sacrifices of their gods,and the people ate and bowed down to their gods. So Israel joined themselves to Baal of Peor and the LORD was angry against Israel (Num. 25:13).This was the climactic story of Israels idolatry, immorality, and rebellion against God since the Exodus from Egypt. It was at this point that Godjudged the nation by keeping them out of the land until the entire rebellious generation except Caleb and Joshua had died in the wilderness (Num.26).Finally, just before the new generation was to enter the Promised Land under Joshua, Moses gave them his long farewell message (Deut. 133).An important part of that message was that they not make any image of Jehovah nor any image of any kind. Nor were they to intermarry with thenations of the land. Deuteronomy 4:1520 and 7:16 are excellent examples of Moses impassioned warnings:2

Furthermore, you shall not intermarry with them; you shall not give your daughters to their sons, nor shall you take their daughters for your sons.For they will turn your sons away from following Me to serve other gods; then the anger of the LORD will be kindled against you, and He will quickly destroy you.But thus you shall do to them: you shall tear down their altars, and smash their sacred pillars, and hew down their Asherim, and burn their graven images with fire.(Deut. 7:35)77 7. Garber, 798799.2Murphy, Edward F.: Handbook for Spiritual Warfare. Nashville : Thomas Nelson, 1997, c1996, S. 118

Moses stated further that any person who tried to seduce the faith of a Jew to lead them into idolatry or syncretism was to be executed (Deut.13:616), and any Jew who worshiped any other god or served any god but Yahweh was also to be executed (Deut. 17:17). Huey writes that theJewsdid not obey the injunctions given by Moses to destroy the people completely, but settled down among them. They continued to worship the foreign gods they hadbrought from Egypt (Josh. 24:14,15,23) and also were enticed by the gods of the Canaanites after they settled in the land. (Judg. 2:1113; 6:2532; see also Judg.1718)8

The story of Israels continual rebellion against God and compromise with idolatry and syncretism worsens in the rest of the historical andprophetical period of Israels history. Samuel battled with it during his entire lifetime (1 Sam. 7:34). Garber writes:9The tension between idolatry and the essential spirit of Israelite religion is reflected in the early prophetic protest of Samuel: For rebellion is as the sin ofdivination, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry (1 Sam. 15:23). In this statement Samuel places disobedience to God and idolatry in the same category. Inthe final analysis idolatry was rebellion, for it constituted a violation of Gods commands.

The brightest period was during the long reign of David. Yet his son Solomon, who began so well, in his old age was drawn into the worst formsof idolatry and paganism by his many women (1 Kings 11:19). He filled the royal gardens with the repulsive images of the gods of his wives andconcubines. In judgment God wrenched out of his hand ten of the twelve tribes of Israel (1 Kings 11:11f).Jeroboam became the leader of the ten separated tribes which were now called Israel. He too seemed to begin well (1 Kings 11:2640), but soonerected two golden calves, one in Bethel and another at Dan, and forced the people of Israel to worship there instead of in the temple at Jerusalem (1Kings 12:2514:19). For the rest of Israels history he came to be known as Jeroboam, who caused Israel to sin.Rehoboam, Solomons son, was no better. He too caused Judah to sin (1 Kings 14:2124). The writer reveals that under Rehoboam not only didJudah build for themselves high places and sacred pillars and Asherim [symbols of female goddesses, associated with fertility and sexuality] on everyhigh hill, but there were also male cult prostitutes in the land. They did according to all the abominations of the nations which the LORDdispossessed before the sons of Israel.Ongoing and intense spiritual warfare characterized the history of Israel and Judah from then on to the time of the Babylonian Exile. Suchspiritual warfare had been strong during their entire existence from the Exodus from Egypt, but now Israel became totally committed to the evils ofthe flesh, the world, and the Devil. All her leaders were evil, the most notorious being Ahab and Jezebel (1 Kings 16:2922:40; 2 Kings 9).Judah at first remained more faithful to the covenant. While some of her kings walked in the sins of Israel, others brought the people back to God,destroyed the idols, and abolished cult prostitution and child sacrifice. Most notable were the revivals under Hezekiah (2 Kings 1820) and Josiah (2Kings 2223:28).Yet these revivals came too late. Judah became as vile as Israel. God determined Judah too would go into Babylonian captivity (2 Kings 2425)because of her idolatry, immorality, and rebellion against Him. This was Judahs final defeat in her long history of spiritual warfare.During this period the prophets battled idolatry and its associated evils. First were the preaching prophets like Elijah and Elisha. Then came thewriting prophets. From the eighth century B.C. on through the Exile they spoke and wrote the Word of God with boldness and passion.Hosea denounced the stubborn spiritual and physical harlotry of Israel (Hos. 2:1617; 8:46; 13:2). Amos spoke out against the Canaanite highplaces among the people and the image worship of Gods people. Isaiah grieved over the idolatry of Israel.Zephaniah warned against the worship of astral deities, against Milcom, and against pagan superstitions (Zeph. 1:29), says Huey.10 Habakkukpronounced woes upon those who would worship a god made with their own hands (Hab. 2:1819). No prophet fought the apostasies of Judah morevehemently than Jeremiah and Ezekiel. The latter fiercely denounced the sacrifice of children to the gods (16:2021).88 8. Huey, 247248.99 9. Garber, 798.1010 10. Huey, 246.

Next came the post-exilic period: Ezra, Nehemiah, and Malachi strongly opposed any marriages of Jews with pagans. Those who had alreadydone so had to put away their pagan wifes. The people responded. The had finally learned the lesson of their past history. Writing of theintertestamental period, Huey states:In the 2nd century B.C., the Seleucid rulers of Palestine attempted to revive the worship of the local fertility gods and the Helenistic deities. Antiochus IVEpiphanes (175164 B.C.) issued an edict establishing one religion for all his subjects. He erected an altar to Zeus over the altar of burnt offering in the Temple atJerusalem. He required the Jews to take part in the heathen festivals or be slain. His oppressive measures brought about the Maccabean revolt that resulted in abrief period of religious and political freedom for the Jews. 11

Garber comments, Never again were Jews to take idolatry seriously. Rather, idol worship became for them a matter of semi-humorous satire andridicule (cf. Bel and Dragon).12Idolatry in the New TestamentThe entire New Testament world was engulfed in idolatry and its accompanying sexual immorality. Temple prostitution was rampant. Some of thepagan religious rites were even more immoral than those of the Old Testament pagan nations including the Canaanites. Rome ruled the world, but theGreek culture dominated. Greece had its pantheon of high gods and its innumerable lower gods and spirits. Rome took the Greek pantheon as its ownand added its own maze of lower gods and spirits and those of all the peoples it conquered.To this was added the cult of the emperor and the later mystery cults. Gods, goddesses, and spirits both bad and good were everywhere andindwelt everything. Religion ranged from polytheism and henotheism to animism and pantheism. As long as people also honored the gods of theGreco-Roman pantheon and venerated and later worshiped the emperor, people could believe what they wanted and do what they wanted in worshipexcept perform human sacrifice. The Romans often killed whom and when they willed, but direct human sacrifice was not a part of their religiousworld view.Coming as it did out of the fierce monotheism of post-exile Israel, the early Christian church, though born in such an idolatrous world, had strongmonotheistic and anti-idolatrous roots. Therefore idolatry, though it existed and was always a threat, was not the threat that it had been to Israelbefore the Exile.Church members living in heathen communities received their first warnings about compromise with idols from the early Christian leaders whomet at the great church council of Acts 15 (vv. 26,29). Luke describes Pauls encounter with idolatry and paganism in Acts 1320.Paul had to address the problem of Gentile converts eating meat which had been sacrificed to idols in 1 Corinthians 8:113 and 10:1422. Whilehe denied that idols had any real existence in themselves (1 Cor. 12:2; Gal 4:8; 1 Thess. 1:9), he knew that participation in their worship even inignorance meant participating with demons (1 Cor. 10:2021). Therefore he fully recognized the demonic spiritual warfare dimensions of idolatry.The apostle John, too, warned believers against idolatry (1 John 5:21). The Book of Revelation has much to say about idolatry, both in referenceto the churches and the unbelievers.Revelation 23 speaks about idolatry and Satans dwelling among the churches of Asia. Revelation 9:20 says all unbelievers in one way oranother are involved in the worship of demons, and the idols of gold and of silver and of brass and of stone and of wood, which can neither seenor hear nor walk, quoting Psalm 115:47. The same book warns against the worship of the image of the beast and promises glory to those whorefuse to worship the beast or its image (Rev. 13:1415; 14:911; 20:4).As a final word, I quote F. B. Hueys Why Idolatry Is Condemned in the Bible.13

1111 11. Huey, 248.

1212 12. Garber, 799.1313 13. Huey, 248.

[Idolatry] denies the existence of the true God who created the world and mankind, and whose glory cannot be adequately captured in any tangible form. It isabsurd that a person could carve an idol with his own hands and then be afraid of what he has made, or use it as an object of worship. . . . A visible representationof the deity tends to restrict a persons concept of God, for he will base his concept of God, consciously or unconsciously, upon the image or picture.Finally, man becomes like that which he worships (Hos. 9:10). If his god is lifeless and cold, it can bring him no real hope or comfort. Only the true and living Godcan fulfill the hope of eternal life.

WITCHCRAFT OR SORCERYNow we must look at the second type of religious sin Paul warns against and against which we war. The Greek word is a strange one. It ispharmakeia, translated witchcraft or sorcery in the NAS. Fung says originally it meant the medical use of drugs.14 Our English word pharmacycomes from this word. Vine says that pharmakeia in English is pharmacy. It primarily signified the use of medicine, drugs, spells, then poisoning,then sorcery (or) witchcraft.Vine then makes another observation. After stating that the word was later applied to witchcraft and sorcery, he says:In sorcery, the use of drugs, whether simple or potent, was generally accompanied by incantations and appeals to occult powers with the provision of variouscharms, amulets, etc., professedly designed to keep the applicant or patient from the attention and power of demons, but actually to impress the applicant with themysterious resources and powers of the sorcerer.15

1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.9.

Ronald Fung parallels Vines insightful words. He adds that the value of the books of magic arts that the Ephesian Christians burned boreeloquent witness to the prevalence of such practices in those times (Acts 19:19; cf. 8:911; 13:810) in spite of the fact that sorcery was a seriousoffense in Roman law.16It is difficult to find the best word for the practice Paul is condemning here. Most translations fluctuate between witchcraft and sorcery withthe majority opting for sorcery. Perhaps the broader term occultism would be best as the practice in New Testament times covered most of what isdone in the different branches of occultism today: sorcery, witchcraft, spiritism, divination, magic, spells, curses, and the mediumistic practices ofcontacting the spirits of the dead and astral or spirit projection.17This activity of the flesh in the spirit realm covers at least nine areas:Any form of spiritual practice which has as its goal making contact with the spirit world (with angels, spirits, the spirits [ghosts] of the dead, etc.)for selfish purposes, such as the channeling rage made popular by actress Shirley MacLaine.To attempt the above even only out of curiosity.To attempt to manipulate the spirit world to do ones bidding.To attempt to gain knowledge from the spirit world outside of or beyond what God has revealed in His Word.To gain power from the spirit world over ones own life, the lives of others, and/or over circumstances and events in this world.To gain power from the spirit world to do good for ones self or for others such as healing, finances, or pleasures, or to do harm to others who standin the way of the desired good one seeks.To gain protection from good spirits against malevolent, evil spirits.To contact the spirits (ghosts) of the dead.To contact or to serve Satan as over against the true God or the Lord Jesus Christ, whatever ones motive may be or whatever ones view of Satansperson and activity may be.1414 14.1515 15.1616 16.1717 17.

Fung, 256.Vine 3:5152.Fung, 256257.For more in-depth studies see the articles on divination, witchcraft, and sorcery in the ISBE and ZPEB.

Sorcery includes the realm of magic (not sleight of hand); that is, the use of drugs, chants, and ceremonies which in themselves possess power toproduce desired results or changes in people, circumstances or events, both black and white magic.If sincere believers break biblical norms in seeking spiritual experiences, even if they sincerely seek them from the Holy Spirit, they can becomedeceived by spirits who counterfeit the Spirit of God and the gifts of the Spirit (2 Cor. 11:4; Gal. 1:8; 1 John 4:14).18

23Social SinsThe fine young pastor was seeing his church disintegrate before his eyes. The major problem centered around one highly gifted woman Bible teacherwho had come to the small, struggling church about two years before. She appeared to be very sincere and was present every time the church doorsopened.She said she wanted to help in a special way in a teaching ministry with the women of the church, the pastor said to me. I was thrilled to havesuch a mature and gifted Bible teacher working with me. The women enjoyed her teaching and flocked to her class, but a strange thing happened. Theelders and I noticed that the women of the church became increasingly restless and unhappy with the church and some with their husbands.As they counseled the women they discovered two things. All the younger women had begun to resist their husbands leadership in the home.They wanted to control their husbands. All the older women began to lead their husbands away from the church to join other churches. Every one ofthe women showing these tendencies were members of that ladys Bible class.The pastor did not know what to do. He had no direct proof the teacher was subverting the Christian homes and the church. He, with his elders,finally decided they would have to ask her to give up her womens Bible class. She refused.The pastor was desperate. Every Sunday they were losing people either through families splitting up or families leaving the church. The elders,many of whose wives attended the Bible class, were afraid to act for fear of their wives. Most of them, however, supported the pastor in his desire tobring the issue before the church membership.Since the woman was not a member of the church, she was not supposed to attend the membership meeting; but she came anyway. The menpresent were so afraid of their wives, the leaders could not get enough votes to force the lady to give up the class. So she continued to teach until noone was left. Then suddenly she disappeared. The pastor heard later she was doing the same thing in another church.Distinctive Characteristics of Social Sins (Galatians 5:20)While this is an extreme case, it is the sort of division Paul is dealing with in Galatians 5:20, where he begins to list what I call the social sins.People commit them against one another. I also call them the Christian sins because they are so widespread among us and so widely tolerated byus. Many popular platform preachers and evangelists vehemently denounce the moral and religious sins. Yet the entire context of their lifestyle is thatof bondage to these social, Christian sins.Jealousy and envy too often fill them. They live in continual enmity and strife with other platform leaders whom they see more as their rivals thantheir brothers. They react with outbursts of anger to events and persons when things do not go their way. They constantly dispute and dissent withfellow believers. They have divided the body of Christ into endless factions centered around themselves, not the Lord Jesus Christ or the church atlarge.The social sins form the most exhaustive list of the three and represent the most commonly practiced and accepted sins among us. In that sensethey are most dangerous. While the moral and religious sins may have the greatest immediate negative impact on world evangelism, the social sins1818 18. For two helpful books on this topic, see War on the Saints by Jessie Penn- Lewis and Evan Roberts (New York: Thomas E.Lowe, Ltd., 1987) and The Beautiful Side of Evil by Johanna Michaelsen (Eugene, Ore.: Harvest House, 1982).

have perhaps the greatest long-range negative impact. They are emphasized almost a hundredfold more in the New Testament, especially in theepistles of Paul, than the other two groups combined.The people of the world live in contention. We know or should know that only believers have the real solution for the desperate problemsrepresented by broken interpersonal relationships among humanity. It is the peace of God found only in Christ.What we refuse to acknowledge, at least in our lifestyle, is that we believers unfortunately usually behave as the world does in our interpersonalrelationships. Probably the greatest single obstacle to world evangelism is the interpersonal conflicts among believers, particularly among Christianleaders.Conflict began in the early church as evidenced by the epistles of Paul, Peter, John, and James. In their writings these men make constantreference to the negative interpersonal relationships between believers in the apostolic churches.The Lord Jesus had said that oneness among his people would be the single most important factor leading towards effective world evangelism(John 17:1821). Yet the Epistles constantly have to appeal for this oneness and correct the lack of it among Gods people (Rom. 1216; 1 Cor. 14,6, 814).I have classified the social sins mentioned by Paul here into three groups. They are sins of division, sins of bitterness, and sins of covetousnessamong Christians.Divisions Among Believers (Galatians 5:20)Admittedly all of the social sins produce division or are evidence of it among believers. Yet four are specifically that type of sin. They are strife,disputes, dissensions, and factions.Strife and jealousy are the only sins in the list in the singular. We will see why later. The plural of the word translated strife here is found in1 Corinthians 1:11, however, where it is translated quarrels.Paul uses the Greek word eris for strife. Fung comments:1Eris is the contentious temper (NEB) which leads to strife (RV) and discord (NIV). Paul mentions it as a characteristic of pagan society (Rom. 1:29; cf. 13:13),but unfortunately it often gains entry into the church as well, causing quarrels and disrupting Christian fellowship (1 Cor. 1:11; 3:3; 2 Cor. 12:20).

Fung makes an interesting comment on the word eritheiai translated disputes. He says it is the plural of eritheia which denotes base self-

seeking. The word is derived from erithos, a hireling, and originally meant working for pay. It came to acquire the sense of canvassing foroffice.Elsewhere in Pauls letters it occurs in a context having to do with competing parties within the church (cf. 2 Cor. 12:20; Phil. 1:17; 2:3).Therefore it probably refers to the selfish ambition (NIV) which gives rise to rival factions (RV) and party strife (AV, cf. NAS).2It is followed by two similar words, dissensions and factions, all words with similar connotations. Dissensions translates dichostasiai. It isused in classical Greek to mean dispute, disunity, strife in general and even revolt or rebellion. It is the same word used by Paul in Romans16:17 to warn the church against those who cause dissensions or divisions. It has a strong focus on those who cause parties, cliques, and disunity ingeneral with the church.The word for factions is hairesis. It is in the plural here and simply means choices. As already stated, most of the words here are in the pluralform, probably indicating they refer to a wide variety of ways of causing division within the church.11 1. Ronald Y. K. Fung, The Epistle to the Galatians (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1989), 257.22 2. Fung, 258.

The singular, haireseo[mv1]$LO[mv-1]s, refers to a body of people who have chosen the same faith or position, like the party of the Pharisees inActs 15:5 where it is translated sect in the Greek-English New Testament. Used in a negative context, as it is here, it means a faction (1 Cor. 11:19),in opposition to the official group, in this context, the church. Fung says that in this passage the reference is to factions (NAS), each exhibiting aparty spirit (RSV) and possibly engaged in party intrigues (NEB). The KJV translates it heresies. A New Period of Interpersonal Strife?The church seems to move through periods of strife followed by some reconciliation and then new periods of strife. Where are we today? At thebeginning of this century, the church moved into a period of terrible strife with the birth of the Pentecostal movement. From this movementsubsequently arose all the present-day Pentecostal denominations. That early period was one of great strife between Pentecostals and the mainlineProtestant groups out of which Pentecostalism emerged.A period of reconciliation followed. The non-Pentecostal and independent churches, generally speaking, began to recognize that, in spite of whatthey considered to be errors in doctrine, the Pentecostals were Gods people. The Pentecostal movement sparked a new era in evangelism, churchplanting, and world missions. In many countries the growth of Pentecostal-type churches has outstripped that of the older non-Pentecostal churches.3Then when things began to settle down in the 1950s, a new spiritual bombshell dropped out of the sky: the Charismatic movement. 4 While thismovement has great similarities with the Pentecostal movement, it has enough differences to classify it as a new movement. The Charismaticmovement definitely is built upon the foundation laid by the Pentecostal movement, however, exactly as the latter is built upon the foundation laid bythe Holiness movement of the nineteenth century.Both the Pentecostals and the Charismatics have a wide-open stance concerning the function of all the gifts of the Spirit. Both believe that all (oralmost all) of the gifts are still operative within the body of Christ today. The traditional Protestant and Roman Catholic view is that some of the giftsare no longer operative.Two obvious differences exist between the Pentecostals and Charismatics. Both have caused some Pentecostals to be just as skittish about theCharismatics as are many traditional Protestants.One, Charismatics usually have a more flexible view of the evidence of the baptism with the Holy Spirit. The traditional Pentecostal view is thatthe only true sign is speaking in tongues. Pentecostals distinguish between tongues as a gift of the Spirit and tongues as the sign of the baptism withthe Spirit. While Charismatics believe in tongues, they do not usually see it as the only evidence of the baptism with the Spirit.Two, the Charismatic movement sees itself as a revival movement cutting across all branches of Christendom, across Catholicism, Protestantismand even Pentecostalism. Thus it has not created official Charismatic doctrinal statements as have the Pentecostals and, of course, RomanCatholicism and the historical Protestant denominations. You can be a Charismatic and still hold to most, if not all, traditional Catholic, Protestant, orPentecostal doctrines.A Repeating PatternFor years traditional Protestant writers and teachers have spoken out and written against the Charismatic movement as they had done earlieragainst Pentecostalism. With time mainline evangelicals began to look upon Charismatics with more tolerance and understanding as had occurredearlier with Pentecostals. Their zeal for God, their evangelism, their desire for a holy life gave evidence that God was working through theCharismatic movement in spite of what some saw as troublesome doctrinal errors within the movement.33 3. For a history of Pentecostalism by a Pentecostal scholar see John Thomas Nichol, Pentecostalism (New York: Harper & Row,1966). For one which includes a history of the Charismatic movement by a non- Pentecostal and non-Charismatic, see C. PeterWagners excellent book, How To Have a Healing Ministry Without Making Your Church Sick (Ventura, Calif.: Regal, 1988b).44 4. For the best information on both the Charismatic and Pentecostal movements, see Stanley M. Burgess and Gary B. McGee,Dictionary of Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 1989).

Traditional Protestants, Pentecostals, and Charismatics began to work together, especially in evangelism and church renewal. Both Pentecostalsand Charismatics began to serve as missionaries under outstanding non-Pentecostal-Charismatic mission boards.Just when things seemed to settle down, another new spiritual explosion has occurred. It has originated, as was true for both Pentecostalism andthe Charismatic movement (from a U.S. perspective) in California. The Third Wave has been born.5 The Third Wave is the renewal movement nowoccurring among leaders within conservative evangelical churches who do not want to be Pentecostal or Charismatic. They want to be known asconservative evangelicals, yet are open to renewal by the Holy Spirit, including the operation of most, if not all, of the gifts of the Holy Spirit.Whatever emphasis they may give to experiences with the Holy Spirit, they do not believe in a once and for all special baptism with the HolySpirit additional to and subsequent to the Spirits baptism which joins one to the body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:13). They will use such terms asanointing with the Spirit, filling with the Spirit, empowerment by the Holy Spirit, but not baptism of the Spirit. They also probably wouldaccept the traditional conservative evangelical statement, There is only one baptism but many fillings. They do give place to the so-calledmiraculous gifts, not just to the more traditional gifts.I believe we are moving into a day of renewed strife within the body of Christ, especially in the United States, however. The Third Wave, forsome evangelicals, has become the straw that broke the camels back. Some have taken pen in hand and have written (and are still writing) booksaffirming that the full spectrum of the Spirits gifts are not operative in the church today. What we are witnessing in these renewal movements, theydeclare, are counterfeits of the real gifts; some are demonic, and others are psychological or outright sham.Guilt by association is now being revived after being dormant for so long. If you work with Pentecostals, Charismatics, and even Third Wavers,you are suspect. In the name of doctrinal purity, strife is again resulting from the speaking and writing ministry of some well-known traditionalevangelical leaders.Now a new division is being pushed. Mission boards which have opened their door to Pentecostals, Charismatics, and Third Wavers arethreatened with the cutoff of financial support by the churches controlled by some of these preachers and Bible teachers. Unfortunately, a new hardline position is being taken all in the name of the one who prayed that they may all be one; even as Thou, Father, art in me and I in Thee, that theyalso may be one in Us; that the world may believe that Thou didst send Me (John 17:21).It is a sobering experience to read Jesus and later Pauls words and then examine ones own life and ministry. If I am a sower of strife, a leader ofdisputes, dissensions, and factions with the body of Christ, then at that point I am walking in the flesh, not in the Spirit. All my declarations that I amonly contending for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints (Jude 3) are a total abuse of that verse. This is not what Jude had inmind when he wrote these words. Pentecostals, Charismatics, and Third Wavers are also defenders and advocates of true biblical faith.Not only is the flesh involved in such attitudes, but also demonic spirits. They are the evil spirits behind most of the renewed divisions within thebody of Christ. The Spirit is the Spirit of peace and oneness within the Body. The spirits are the spirits of division and disunity within the Body.Which spirit is influencing my life in my attitude towards brethren of different doctrinal or ecclesiastical persuasions?

24Bitterness and Intemperance55 5. The first wave of widespread renewal of the century was the Pentecostal movement, according to researchers. The secondwas the Charismatic movement. A third renewal movement is being called The Third Wave. The name probably originated fromthe creative mind of church growth expert C. Peter Wagner of the School of World Missions of Fuller Theological Seminary. See,The Third Wave of the Holy Spirit (Ann Arbor, Mich.: Vine Books, Servant Publications, 1988a) and How To Have a Healing Ministry.

Alovely young mother came to me because of serious problems with her young child. In our first session she showed evidence of severe bruising inher own life. As I carefully set the context in which she could feel free to open her heart about her own life, she suddenly cried out, I hate mygrandfather. I hate my grandmother. I hate my father. I hate my mother.That was a lot of hate in one breath. Next to her husband and child, these were four persons she should love most in life.Why do you hate your grandfather? I asked.Because he is sexually perverse, she replied.Why do you hate your grandmother?Because she is as sexually perverse as my grandfather. They are both advanced in years; yet they talk about sex as if they were street kids.What did your grandfather do to you?She lowered her head on my desk and began to weep uncontrollably. I let her weep until she was ready to respond.I hate him because he has abused me sexually since I was a girl! she cried out. Again she put her face in her hands and continued to weep.I felt deep compassion for her but was very careful not to touch her in any way, even though she was only the age of one of my daughters. In myspirit, I felt she had deep, personal, sexual problems resulting from the abuse, and any physical contact on my part could be misunderstood. Besides,she was extremely beautiful and sexually attractive and I was not going to give any ground to the Evil One.When she brought her emotions under control, she said, My grandfather is so sexually perverse he used to set me on his lap when I was a littlegirl and fondle me. As I began to grow up, he did everything to me. Even now, though Im married, he is always after me. When he hugs me I have toput my arms across my chest or he would touch me in a sensual way. I hate him. I hate him!Why do you hate your grandmother? I asked.She knows what my grandfather is doing. She seems to delight in what he does almost as much as he does. I hate them both.Why do you hate your father?Her eyes blazed with hate and rage. I hate him for not protecting me from his father. He was supposed to be my protector, but he didnt protectme. When his father would hold me and touch me in an inappropriate manner, I would look at my father, pleading with my eyes for his protection,but all he did was either ignore me or laugh. I hate him! I hate him!Again she wept uncontrollably. When she had her composure she continued, I also hate my father because he didnt show me love when Ineeded his love. He would hug and kiss me when I was a little girl, but when I began to grow up and needed his love, he never gave it to me.Therefore, I never knew male love that was not sexual.Finally, I asked why she hated her mother.She is Mrs. Perfect. She is a well-known womens Bible teacher. She travels and speaks everywhere. She had no time for me when I needed herto be my friend and counselor. She is the same way today, Mrs. Perfect, and I am not perfect.She then looked at me in puzzlement. Dr. Murphy, what is wrong with me? Everywhere I go men stare at me and want to touch me. But theyonly want to touch me in a sexual way. Am I so dirty that men know what has happened to me? I dont want to be seen like that.After several sessions with this young woman, I saw that some aspects of her problem needed more help than I could give her, so I brought inanother counselor.The time came when she was ready to face the issue of extending forgiveness to those who had hurt her so terribly. Her life had beencharacterized by interpersonal conflict with many authority figures. Her sense of betrayal by the authority figures who should have been her helperswas so deep, she distrusted all authority.We had her make up a list of the names of the persons she hated, was bitter against, or had deep conflict with. To our amazement she returned forthe next session with an 8" by 11" sheet of paper with names on both sides!

She made a copy for me and my fellow counselor. When she was ready, she brought the names before God, one by one. She confessed herreactionary sin1 (see Figure 24.1) against each of them and declared by faith she was now forgiving each individual one by one. When she came tothe name of her grandfather, she skipped him and went on to other names.I waited but she did not return to her grandfathers name. I knew he was the main one and felt she was avoiding the real emotional roadblock towholeness. I said, You skipped over your grandfathers name.She stopped her praying and confessing and looked directly at me. I am not ready for him yet, she bluntly replied, and went on. I made no morecomment.Finally, she came back to him. It was a terrible emotional battle. The very thought of him made her sob. She could hardly stand the sight of hisname on her list. He was the one that had caused her the deepest pain. This marred relationship had affected almost everything in her life, includingher relationship with her husband.She wanted him punished, not forgiven. Finally she cried out to the Lord, forgiving this cruel man as the Lord had forgiven her. It brought aboutan emotional release the like of which I had never seen before. It proved the real key to the beginning of her emotional healing which occurred not allat once but over a period of several months.Eight Ways to Deal With BitternessHow do we discover and deal with the deep, often unconscious, roots of bitterness, shame, rejection, and like negative emotions that lie buriedwithin most of us? I would like to share eight ideas.21. Express these negative feelings instead of submerging and suppressing them. If you are plagued by shame, rejection, low self-esteem,3 anger,bitterness, or rage against others and against God, admit it.This is what Dr. William Backus calls, telling yourself the truth.4 Say it, I am angry with __________. I feel rejected by __________. Iwas sexually abused by my father-mother-brother-uncle-grandfather, etc. Whatever the truth is, tell it to yourself. Recognize what is going on insideof you.Next, tell it to God. He already knows, but He is waiting to hear you tell Him the truth, even if you are angry with Him. David, Jeremiah, andother heroes of the faith became angry with God and not only told Him so, but they wrote it down for everyone to read.Then, tell it to your James 5:16 prayer-share-healing partner. We will talk more about the need of such a helper later in our study.2. Accept your responsibility for your negative, hateful feelings. I have had to do this over and over again. Others are not responsible for ourreactionary sins. We are. This is the consistent theme of Scripture. People are always held responsible for their sins, even sins provoked by the unjustactions of others.11 1. Reactionary sin is the sin reaction of abused persons against their abusers, against innocent third parties, and even againstGod. The diagram on page 172 shows how such sin operates. Follow the arrows from (1) Activator to (2) Victim. The victim thenbecomes an activator of sin (3) against the abuser (4); or, if in an inferior power position, the victim turns his anger against other,innocent people (5). This produces a chain reaction spreading sin often for generations. It must be stopped by the choice of thevictims to forgive their abusers as Christ has forgiven them, even if the abusers do not seek forgiveness. This is the example setby Jesus as recorded in 1 Peter 2:2125; 3:818.22 2. See the following beneficial books by David A. Seamands, Professor of Pastoral Studies at Asbury Theological Seminary:Healing for Damaged Emotions (Wheaton, Ill.: Victor, 1985a) and Healing Grace (Wheaton, Ill.: Victor, 1988).33 3. Seamands says low self-esteem is Satans number one tactic of deception with Christians (Healing for Damaged Emotions,4896).44 4. William Backus two books, Telling Yourself the Truth (Minneapolis, Minn.: Bethany House, 1980) and Telling the Truth toTroubled People (Minneapolis, Minn.: Bethany House, 1985) are outstanding.

In Ephesians 4:315:2b the apostle includes all believers, even those abused from childhood by others and those who may have been demonizedfrom birth or even before birth. Those who hurt you have their own guilt, but it is guilt before God, not before you. You are not responsible for theiractions. You are only responsible for your reactions to their actions.

3. Confess your reactionary sin, if possible on at least three levels: First, to the Lord: Accept by faith His faithfulness and righteousness inforgiving you your sins and His promise to cleanse you from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:62:1).Second, to your James 5:16 prayer-share-healing partner: This way you are forced to verbalize to a trusted fellow human being what has beenhidden within you most of your life. This not only opens the way for his effective prayer for you, but is therapeutic for you to bring the darkness ofyour inner life out into the light.Third, wherever it is both necessary and possible, confess your feelings toward those against whom you hold such anger and bitterness (Matt.5:2224; 6:1215; Mark 11:2526; Matt. 18:2135). If they were the perpetrators of some of the evil done to you, this provides them with theopportunity to face their sins, receive forgiveness, and be restored to life in Christ. At the same time it is not always possible and advisable to do so.This is where your counselor or James 5:16 partner can help you know what is profitable and what would do more harm than good.4. Ask yourself if you really want to be healed of your emotional bruising. This may seem obvious, but it is not. Some have become soaccustomed to their self-pity, anger, feelings of inferiority, rejection, they really dont want to change. For many, it has become an excuse for othersins which they do not want to abandon. They want to be whole, but not to pay the full price such wholeness demands.5. By faith choose to forgive all those who have hurt you. Again this needs to be done by faith, by an act of the will in obedience to the Word ofGod. The emotions are not the key factor, because they change. The act of the will, the obedience of faith, is stable. In time, the emotions may fallmore in line with the will of faith. If not, it makes no difference. Your will has obeyed in faith the command of God. Someone has said, Forgivenessis giving up the right to hate those who have hurt us. Without doubt this is the most difficult part of forgiveness.A fifteen-year-old girl, the victim of years of incest on the part of her father, had come for counseling. As the Christian counselor brought up thesubject of her need to forgive her father for the evil he had done to her, she reacted with anger against his suggestion saying, Why should I forgivemy father for ruining the first fifteen years of my life?The counselor wisely immediately replied, If you dont, you will be allowing him to ruin the next fifteen years of your life.What words of wisdom! The root of bitterness defiles many, Paul says. It especially defiles the one in whom the root is nourished (Heb. 12:15).6. By faith, choose to extend the redeeming love of Christ to the offenders. By this I do not mean to try to win them to Christ. The offending partymay already be a Christian. Sometimes they are well-known Christian leaders. Some are very effective soul winners.While some may reject the possibility that perpetrators of such evil could ever be truly born again Christians, we have to accept the fact thatsome of them are. At least they have accepted Christ as Savior and have perhaps faithfully served Him except for this one dark area of their life.When you forgive and can really pray for the salvation and transformation of those who have hurt you most, you are on the way to healing. Godmoves in answer to the prayers of His saints.7. Choose to forgive yourself and accept Gods forgiveness for your sins. Do not allow the Devil to accuse you any longer or to fill you withshame, self-rejection, a sense of dirtiness, or worthlessness.Second Corinthians 2:67,11 is a key passage. Paul was afraid that the repentant believer at Corinth would fall short of receiving Godsforgiveness and be swallowed up by too much remorse (v. 7). Paul felt this was about to happen unless the believers who had disciplined him nowreaffirmed him and assured him of their forgiveness and love.Often believers abused as children struggle to enter into the blissful peace that comes with the assurance of full cleansing and restoration. Guiltplagued, they feel somehow partially responsible for what was done to them even though they know they were victims of the evil of others.8. Finally, break any inroads of Satan into your life which came through the abuse and the abuser. Many child abusers are demonized, and theevil spirits attached to their lives often pair off and attach themselves to the lives of their victims. Or, they may ride the wave of reactionary sin andreinforce the victims feeling of anger, shame, sense of worthlessness, bitterness, and rage. The believer, therefore, must learn to practice effectivespiritual warfare (James 4:78; 1 Pet. 5:811).

In the lives of some people, the roots of bitterness, shame, rejection, and repulsion to others will not respond to the preceding suggestions; or ifthere is response, it may be superficial and not long-lasting. In almost 100 percent of such cases there has been very severe abuse in childhood,usually in preschool days. That abuse is either totally blocked from the memory of the counselee or strange, disconnected flashbacks of some earlytrauma occur. Unfortunately, this often seems to require an agonizing reliving of the pain-causing experiences so the memories can surface and bedealt with by the Spirit of God.In the pastoral context such damaged people are often told that prayer and reading the Bible faithfully will bring the needed healing. This is anover-simplification. The healing does not usually occur either in a one-hour, laying-on-of-hands, healing service or in a brief counseling session.Occasionally it does, just as a person with a fatal disease may sometimes be instantly healed; but this is not the usual manner in which God heals.The same is true with persons terribly damaged by prolonged situations of continual pain in childhood. In such a context, survival was possibleonly by some form of dissociation, or separating themselves totally from even the memory of such trauma. It usually requires a skilled and welltrained healer to help the counselee discover the root causes of his present problems.We must ask God which counseling cases we should take and which we should refer. For every one I take, I refer many others to more skilledcounselors who have the time, training, and experience to become Gods healers to His bruised children.Sins of Covetousness (Galatians 5:2021)The last group of social sins are two, jealousy and envyings. I call them sins of covetousness.Jealousy is zlos in Greek. It is often used in a good sense in the New Testament as zeal (Rom. 10:2; Phil. 3:6; John 2:17; 2 Cor. 7:7). Fungsays that whenever it is associated with eris, strife, it has a negative connotation as here and in Romans 13:13, 1 Corinthians 3:3, 2 Corinthians12:20. It represents jealousy.According to Fung, jealousy is a self-centered zeal which resents the good which another enjoys but is denied to oneself (cf. James 3:14, bitterjealousy) and may actively seek to harm the other person.5Envyings, phthonoi in Greek, is similar in meaning to zlos. Fung says that whereas zlos can have the positive sense of zeal as well as the

negative sense of jealousy, pthonos has only the ignoble sense of envy (RSV) which regards another person with ill will because of what he has oris. This is not very different from zlos as it is used here (cf. NEB, jealousies).6TWO SINS OF INTEMPERANCEThe Greek plural noun methai is translated drunkenness in the KJV, NAS, and most other versions (Gal. 5:21). The NEB translates it drinkingbouts which captures well the meaning of the word. Fung says that while the use of wine is in itself no sin (cf. John 2:10; 1 Tim. 5:23), excessiveconsumption in the form of drunkenness (AV) and drinking bouts (NEB) shows up repeatedly in catalogs of vices (Rom. 13:13; 1 Cor. 5:11; 6:10).In the last two passages the word used is methysos, a drunkard. 7The common practice in drunkenness is to get drunk at night after the days work is done. The apostle Paul refers to this fact in his impassionedexhortation towards soberness of attitude on the part of believers in 1 Thessalonians 5:411.On one occasion Paul had to correct the Corinthian church for allowing drunkenness at the Lords table (1 Cor. 11:2022). While this seemsinconceivable, it is evidence of how widespread drunkenness was in the Gentile world in those days.55 5. Ronald Y. K. Fung, The Epistle to the Galatians, NICNT (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1989), 258.66 6. Fung, 259.77 7. Fung, 259. Not everyone will agree with Fungs more liberal attitude towards wine. Let each be persuaded in his own mind.

The New Testament expresses a strongly negative view towards addiction to wine, that is, to alcoholic beverages, and drunkenness. The apostlePaul says the latter is dissipation (Eph. 5:18a, NAS). The word is astia in Greek, a compound of two words, a, negative, and sz, to save.8 Itis translated by various vivid words in different versions of the New Testament.The KJV translates it riot; the RSV uses debauchery. Beck translates it wild living, while The Emphasized New Testament usesdissoluteness. J. B. Phillips has one of the best functional translations: Dont get your stimulus from wine (for there is always the danger ofexcessive drinking). We are to be stimulated by the intaking of the Holy Spirit, Paul says, not wine (Eph. 5:18).Fung, while commenting on Ephesians 5:18, makes reference to the Hellenistic cult of Dionysus, the god of wine with which the EphesianChristians were only too familiar.9 His ceremonies of worship degenerated into drunken festivals with the usual accompanying orgies. In Scripturedrunkenness and immorality often go together (Gen. 9:2027; 19:3039).The next word is another plural, kmoi (Gal. 5:21). The NAS renders it carousings, the KJV revelings. Vine says it is the concomitant andconsequence of drunkenness.10 Fung says it is a natural companion of drunkenness (cf. Rom. 13:13), a characteristic feature of the pagan way oflife (1 Peter 4:3), and a concrete example of putting pleasure in the place of God (so NEB, 2 Tim. 3:4, phildonoi).11A functional equivalent in contemporary American youth culture would be partying. Such parties with their drunkenness, loss of self-control,immorality, and the like, draw demonic spirits. I dealt with one lying, partying spirit who boasted he was going to transform hell into one riotousparty and dance on the flames.This Is Not AllThe apostle ends his catalog of the vices of the flesh with the statement, and things like these (Gal. 5:21). Fung says, as the list was prefaced byhatina (the kind of), it is climaxed by kai ta homoia, and the like. Both expressions show that the enumeration is representative and notexhaustive.Of the fifteen given here, Fung says the first three (immorality, impurity and sensuality) and the last two (drunkenness and carousings) are sinscommitted in the sphere of the body, but the rest . . . might well be committed by disembodied spirits, this showing that the deeds of the flesh arenot necessarily physical or sensual, but embrace spiritual vices as well.12Pauls closing statement, of which I forewarn you just as I have forewarned you that those who practice these things shall not inherit thekingdom of God (Gal. 5:21b), doesnt refer to an occasional act but to a lifestyle. He uses the participle prassontes, which should not be translatedthese who do such things (KJV) but these who practice such things (NAS).Fung affirms that the participle denotes not an occasional lapse but habitual behavior.13 The NIV correctly translates the phrase those who livelike this.88 8. W. E. Vine, An Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words (London: Oliphants, 1953) 2:57.99 9. Fung, 260.1010 10. Vine 2:295.1111 11. Fung, 260.1212 12. While I understand what Fung is trying to say, I must state that the sins committed in the sphere of the body can alsobe committed by disembodied spirits operating through human beings and even animals. Furthermore, as in the case of incubiand succubi, gross sexual sins can be committed by evil spirits by direct sexual contact with the body of their victim. I have dealtwith several such cases. They are grotesque. The victims suffer greatly, because what they experience is abusive rape.1313 13. Fung, 261.

There is no such thing as justification by Christ without regeneration by the Holy Spirit. As Fung says, the Gospel which offers justification andfreedom from the law through faith in Christ never gives the believers any liberty to turn that freedom into license to practice the acts of the sinfulnature (v. 19, NIV; cf. v. 13).14The apostle refers to inheritance of the kingdom of God. The theme of the kingdom of God of Christ, and of heaven is the central theme ofScripture. As George Ladd says, Modern scholarship is quite unanimous in the opinion that the kingdom of God was the central message of JesusChrist.15 I. H. Marshall agrees and says it means the sovereign activity of God as King in saving men and overcoming evil, and the new orderwhich is thus established.16There seem to be three aspects of the kingdom revealed in Scripture: the kingdom which came with the coming of Jesus; the kingdom whichcontinues to come in the ministry of the church; and the kingdom which is yet to come in the parousia, the second coming of Christ.Our Lords deliverance ministry was uniquely a kingdom ministry. Jesus said to the Jews that his ministry of binding the strong man and castingout demons was evidence that the kingdom of God has come upon you (Matt. 12:2228).An effective spiritual warfare ministry in the sense of victorious warfare against evil supernaturalism in the authority of Jesus name is uniquelyan evidence of the continuing coming of the kingdom of God. This is what brings joy to an otherwise difficult ministry.

SECTION IV

The Believers Warfare With the World

25The Gospel and CultureSyncretism as a Dimension of The WorldThe church of Africa is like a river a mile wide but only an inch deep, someone has said. In recent conferences, the extent of the syncretismpracticed by the church leaders in one African nation surfaced. I was compelled to teach over and over again from Joshua 24:1423, where Joshuachallenged Gods people to make the decision whom they were going to serve, the true God or the no-gods (Gal. 4:8).We were disturbed to find that many of the godly pastors and their wives present for the training conferences were double-minded. Althoughtruly committed to Christ for the forgiveness of their sins and the assurance of eternal life in the coming kingdom of God, they still resorted totraditional gods, magic, and service to ancestral spirits, traditional good and evil spirits, and nature-cosmic spirits to meet daily needs. This was theworld with which they continued to compromise.Towards the end of the week after I had laid sufficient biblical foundation, I used Joshua 24:1415, 23 to challenge the pastors and their wives tofollow the Lord with their whole heart. I invited the leaders to demonstrate publicly their decision to put away the foreign gods which are in yourmidst, and incline your hearts to the LORD (v. 23). A number of the men stood up, making public their decisions to follow the Lord, completelyrejecting all other gods. Some came forward for prayer and counseling.1414 14. Fung, 262.1515 15. George Eldon Ladd, A Theology of the New Testament (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1983), 571.1616 16. I. H. Marshall in Merrill C. Tenney, ed., ZPEB (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 1977) 3:801809.

None of the women responded, however. We had already discovered that usually it is the women who cling to the old gods and spirits andpractice traditional magic. We also knew that culturally women would usually not respond in public where men are present.During the afternoon session with the women, it was my wifes turn to teach. Loretta reviewed my teaching of the morning, gently but firmlypointing out that as pastors wives they were often the most guilty of practicing traditional magic and serving the spirits for protection and blessingsfor themselves and their household.We had been told that many of these women had magic strings tied around their waists and tied to the arms or feet of their children. Lorettachallenged them to remove these magic strings and follow biblical teachings on healing, protection, and blessings for their daily needs.Suddenly a spontaneous restlessness accompanied with a roar of protest swept throughout the group of women. Demons burst into manifestationeverywhere, rejecting the teachings that had been given. Loretta was so startled she did not know what to do. She began to declare to the spirit worldthat Jesus was Lord and had total authority over all spirits and that His servants shared that authority over them. She silenced the spirits.A godly YWAM leader who worked with them stood up and, speaking in their native tongue Chechewa, brought the women under control. Theybegan to minister to those who wanted to follow the Lord fully.A good number of women had become demonized through their homage to the spirits and practice of traditional magic. They needed to be setfree. God was faithful and the teachers witnessed great victories. Not all the women responded, however. Yet these women hold the key to the realspiritual life of their families and churches.Why do I use this case study to begin our study of warfare with the world? Syncretism is not only warfare with evil supernaturalism; it is alsowarfare with the world. The pastors wives in this story were still in love with spirit magic, a major cultural feature of the world in which they lived.They needed to break with the world at this point.As we focus on warfare with sin rooted in what the Bible calls this evil world, we are looking at sin in its social dimension. William Vinedefines the world from this social perspective as the present condition of human affairs in alienation from and opposition to God.1When we speak of human affairs we are forced to think of human societies. Each particular society becomes the world in which the members ofthat society live. For the believer that world becomes his spiritual enemy just as much as his flesh. This is what had occurred in the case of theAfrican pastors wives just mentioned. The social dimension of the believers warfare, his warfare with the world, can become even more difficult forhim to recognize and overcome than the personal dimension, his warfare with the flesh. The world is much more subtle than the flesh. It creeps upupon us unawares.Though not easy to conquer, the sins of the flesh, more concrete and more recognizable, are easier to detect. This is not so with the world. As aresult, most of us as believers are more worldly than we would like to admit.Cultures, Religions, and the GospelSince every believer is part of a cultural group, many of the norms of that group become the sinful world of the believer. The self-centeredlifestyle of the group relentlessly presses in upon believers to conform them to its mold. As citizens of the kingdom of God, believers are to recognizethe intrinsic evil of many dimensions of their culture and resist their subtle entrapments.Cultural Components and the Gospel: Neutral, Compatible, or IncompatibleHuman cultures are not totally evil. While evil pervades all aspects of human life due to the Fall, human cultures in themselves are good formankind in his present earthly state. They devise and enforce laws and values which make the survival of the group possible.Human cultures are composed of various components, each of which exists in a given relationship to other components. Where there is harmonybetween those components, the social structure is relatively stable. Where severe disharmony exists, the continuation of the culture is threatened.

Generally speaking from a biblical perspective, there exist three different broad types of cultural components: those compatible with the Christianfaith, those incompatible, and those neutral.A peoples style of dress, housing, food, and like cultural components are neutral. The gospel has nothing or little to say about them. People canbecome Christians and continue with those cultural components unchanged.Many cultural components are compatible with the gospel. In fact some components of non-Western cultures are more Christian than parallelcomponents of Western culture. Love for family, for example, female marital fidelity, love for and protection of children, respect for, love of, and careof the aged and handicapped, and acceptance of a simple lifestyle, are all cases in point. The gospel reinforces these good cultural components withinthe host cultures. It recognizes in them further evidence of Gods general revelation which extends to all humanity.Other cultural components, however, are not compatible with the gospel. At this point, the Christian message challenges the host culture and canupset the cultural balance. This is especially true when the culture is structured by a world view which clashes with a general biblical world view.This clash will occur even if the world view of that culture is a spiritualistic, or religious, world view. Religion, or its functional substitute, providescontent to ones world view. As such, it lies at the very heart and soul of a culture.Christianity is incompatible with any religion other than itself,2 but non-Christian religions often provide the bridge over which the gospel crossesinto a culture.3 Just as often, however, religion becomes the major barrier to the acceptance of the gospel by a culture. Islam is a case in point.4 Eitherway, when a culture or subculture responds to the gospel, dramatic cultural change often follows. The gospel will eventually challenge the world ofthat culture or subculture.5Christianity is exclusive. It alone provides the one path to eternal life. Jesus Himself said:Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide, and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter by it. For the gate is small, and the wayis narrow that leads to life, and few are those who find it. (Matt. 7:1314)

The gospel is authoritative and dogmatic. It will not compromise with evil or moral, social, or religious error. It lays down standards for bothbelief and conduct. Where these conflict with cultural components of the target culture, those components must eventually change or the culture willnot become biblically Christian. The gospel challenges the world within the culture and the cultural world resists the gospel in continuousconflict. Thus each new generation must be brought to personal faith in Christ.This is just as true with Western culture as in the rest of the world. In fact major components of Western culture are becoming increasinglyincompatible with pure biblical Christianity. This is the world with which the Western church is at war.Cultural Components: Making the Changes the Gospel RequiresEvery major cultural component performs a function within the culture. If a major cultural component conflicts with Scripture, the people have achoice to make. From the perspective of the Word of God only one choice is permitted: The offensive cultural components must be rejected by thepeople and replaced by components compatible with the gospel.22 2. Dick Hillis, Is There Only One Way? (Santa Ana, Calif.: Vision House Publications, 1974); Alan R. Tippett, Verdict Theology(Lincoln, Ill.: Lincoln Christian College Press, 1969), 394.33 3. Don Richardson, Peace Child (Ventura, Calif.: Regal. 1982) and Eternity in Their Hearts (Ventura, Calif.: Regal, 1982b).44 4. Don M. McCurry, ed., The Gospel and Islam (Monrovia, Calif.: MARC/World Vision, 1979). George Otis, Jr., The Last of theGiants (Tarrytown, N.Y.: Revell, 1991).55 5. Almost every people or cultural group will be composed of subgroups which see themselves as different than the people ofthe host culture, i.e., the us versus them mentality. Seldom does a major cultural or people group come to Christ but oftensubgroups within the larger people group do become Christians. For lack of a better word I use subculture to refer to thesegroups.

The result will be both positive and negative. From a positive perspective the people will be pleasing God. From a negative perspective, they willbe upsetting the equilibrium of their own culture. They will be producing a cultural void that cannot be left empty. It must be filled by a culturallyrelevant, functional substitute.How are such functional substitutes to be discovered?6 In mission work, the missionary can help the believers of the host culture recognize thefunction the offensive cultural components perform within their culture.7 Together they must discover or create functional substitutes compatible withbiblical truth but relevant to their culture to fill that cultural void. The role of the missionary and that of the people are both crucial in this matter. Themissionary must not impose his cultural bias upon the host people in the name of the supracultural gospel.When I say supracultural I mean that which arises directly out of Gods Word and is binding upon all cultures in contrast to that which is limitedto or arises out of a given cultural context. For example, John 3:16 is supracultural, while 1 Corinthians 11:56,10,1315 probably is primarilycultural.Also, the missionary is only an advocate of culture change. He cannot produce the changes himself. As an outsider he will not fully understandthe role of the offensive cultural components nor what will be the most acceptable functional substitutes. The changes must come from the people ofthe host culture themselves. They are the only true innovators. Only they will fully understand which functional substitutes will fill the cultural voidsin question.Since every culture is sinful, cultural changes must occur. For example, sexual and worldly lusts are always contrary to Scripture. Immorality iswrong in any culture, even if it presently seems to fulfill an essential function in that culture. Hatred and interpersonal conflicts, rivalries, and warfarebetween opposing people groups do not please God. He loves all people and equally desires their highest good. Vengeance is His prerogative (Rom.12:1821). Religion which does not submit itself to the lordship of Christ displeases God. If it does not result in compassion for the oppressed, thesuffering, afflicted, and lonely, it is not pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God (James 1:27).Furthermore, Jesus is not one among equals or even just the best among other gods and spiritual beings who eventually lead to salvation andpeace with God. He Himself affirmed, I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me (John 14:6).8The Challenges of SyncretismSyncretism is one of the major barriers to world evangelism facing the church today.9 In many parts of the world people have become Christianwithout breaking with their pre-Christian fear of and obedience to the spirits or the no-gods (Gal. 4:8). This is especially true if the version of thegospel they received did not provide functional substitutes for the needs formerly met by the spirits or no-gods. Usually these needs are in the area ofphysical healing, fertility, blessings upon their work to provide for themselves and their families, help in their daily endeavors, and protection fromreal or imagined enemies.

66 6. The concept of functional substitutes was a major theme in the teaching and writing of my teacher and mentor, the late Dr.Alan Tippett, former Professor of Anthropology at the Fuller School of World Mission. See Alan R. Tippett in bibliography; 1967;1970, 28f; 1971; 1973, 167168; 1975; 1987, 144221.77 7. I define a missionary as any Christian who takes the gospel to a culture different than his own. This includes Two-thirdsWorld missionaries as well as Western missionaries.88 8. For the finality of Jesus Christ see Robert E. Speer, The Finality of Jesus Christ (London: Fleming H. Revell, 1933); W. A.Vissert Hooft, No Other Name (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1963); Lesslie Newbigin, The Finality of Christ (Richmond, Va.: JohnKnox, 1969); and Hendrick Kraemer, The Christian Message in a Non-Christian World (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Kregel Publications,1961).99 9. Webster defines syncretism as the combination of different forms of belief or practice.

Worst of all is when the church deliberately tries to combine the gospel with beliefs from traditional religions or spirit magic. A local newspaperprinted the following excerpt in a story titled Traditional Mayan Life Challenged: Evangelical Church, Catholics Compete:10In the last decade, Catholic missionaries have worked hard to help the Indians combine elements of their traditional religion with Catholic teaching to convert theMayans, who make up nearly half of the countrys 9 million people. . . . Bishop Efrain Hernandez, secretary to Guatemalan Archbishop Prospero Penados delBarrios, says the Catholic Church is not trying to destroy indigenous beliefs, but simply mix two ways of thinking.

In the case of Guatemala the evangelicals were taking a strong stand against any form of syncretism. Thus the Roman Catholic clergy and theevangelicals took opposite points of view in the case at hand. We could wish all Protestants would follow the example of their Guatemalanevangelical brethren. Some Protestants have been just as compromising as the Catholics in the Guatemala story.The early church was uncompromising in its declaration, There is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has beengiven among men, by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12). This must be accepted and declared by the people receiving the gospel or the result willbe syncretism or Christo-paganism.Living for self and not for the glory of God and the benefit of ones fellow man is never acceptable to God (Mark 12:2931). Living indisobedience to God and His revelation in His Word and in the Lord Jesus is rebellion against His lordship. Men either create gods in their ownimageidolatry, spiritism, spiritualism, mediumistic religions, animismor make themselves to be God. Either way, they declare independencefrom the lordship of the one true God. As such they follow the world and live in a state of alienation from God.This is the world found within all human cultures. This is the world which presses its non-Christian values against the mind, emotions, and willof all of us as believers, daily. With this world we are at war. It is our enemy because it is Gods enemy. As we will soon see, it is also a demonizedworld. And this world flourishes in America.The World, American StyleAmerica offers a good example of the features of the world as they appear in Western, post-industrial cultures at the dawn of the thirdmillennium. From a popular perspective, we follow Charles Colson who, in The Body: Being Light in the Darkness, calls the view of reality popularamong many in America the worldview of Donahuism.11 This TV talk-show view of reality says, Do whatever is right for you, and you are beingfaithful to whatever is true for you. The key idea, says Colson, is that youand only youshould decide what you want. No one else has a right totell you what to do.Those who advocate this lifestyle see it as autonomy, liberation and freedom. It could better be described as moral decadence. It presents peopleas likeable animals who drift through life seeking self-satisfaction. Most defend few moral values since they say they believe in no moral absolutes.What effect does this decadent view of life have on American culture? First, it trivializes human experience by treating some shameful and selfishhuman acts as shameless and entertaining.Second, it distracts us from facing the most profound questions of life, such as the questions about true goodness and ultimate meaning andpurpose in life.Third, it attacks virtues such as commitment, responsibility, and self-control, which sustain healthy families and societies.The evil inevitably resulting from the unrealistic lifestyle portrayed on television by Donahue and similar talk shows is reinforced by a diet ofdaily TV soap operas. Here a credulous TV audience that seems to have blurred its perspective of right and wrong is mesmerized into approving actsthat only increase our cultures moral crisis, and bringing devastation to us as a people.1010 10. Traditional Mayan Life Challenged: Evangelical Church, Catholics Compete, San Jose Mercury News (March 20, 1991).1111 11. Charles Colson, The Body (Dallas: Word, 1992), 165171. To those unfamiliar with American television, Donahuismrefers to the social views frequently expressed on The Phil Donahue Show, a TV talk show that once attracted the largest viewingaudience. Lately, however, Donahues ratings crashed, and the show has been cancelled.

If Donahuism is the popular term for this world view, a few technical terms better describe its true nature. One such term is cultural relativism.This view declares that ethical truths depend only upon the perspective of reality of the individuals and groups holding them. Truth is not absolute.Thus humans have no objective standard by which to evaluate their beliefs, values, and behavior. Right and wrong are determined in each situationby each individual and each group, not by divine revelation.The result? Philosophical nihilism. This view denies that traditional Judeo-Christian values and beliefs rest on any rational foundation.12 Humansthus exist without a purpose besides the purpose they invent for themselves.Cultural relativism and nihilism encourage cultural pluralism, the condition in which no one world view or culture is held to be superior toanother. Pluralism, in itself, is beneficial to this nation because it opposes the tyranny of one culture over others. Whether we speak of America as acultural melting pot, stew, or salad, we acknowledge that Americas general openness to peoples of other cultures has strengthened our nation.This is the good news. Here is the bad news. Often cultural pluralism in the form of political correctness seeks to silence any clear witness to theChrist event. We can no longer assume that American culture is based upon and upholds Judeo-Christian values.Because our culture increasingly opposes acknowledging the one true God as its ground of being, it strongly promotes the world view ofnaturalism. Traditional naturalism has, throughout the twentieth century, consistently affirmed that humanity, not God, is the center of the universe.Human life, for the moment, represents the zenith in a blind, purposeless process called evolution.In essence, humankind came from nothing; lives for nothing but its own existence; has no predetermined future; and may someday be supersededby a superior form of life as different from the human species as humanity is from sheep, among the dumbest of mammals. Should this processcontinue, the new species also will cease to exist, be replaced by an even more sophisticated form, and continue the naturalistic cycle.This view is still held in most of academia and, to a lesser degree, by the public at large. Today, however, we are witnessing the rise of a neonaturalism that asserts the supremacy of nature as a whole. All nature is equal, according to neo-naturalism, so humanity should no longer beconsidered the center of the universe. No surprise, then, Colson writes, that Earth Day would get more attention than Easter. Or that DavidBrown, former executive director of the Sierra Club would write that while the death of young men in war is unfortunate, it is no more serious than[the] touching of mountains and wilderness areas by mankind.Colson observes that neo-naturalism enshrines nature with its own mystique and breeds its own form of worship, which partially explains thespread of pantheism and the proliferation of bizarre New Age cults. Neo-naturalism makes relativism total: It is not possible to declare that onecreature has more intrinsic value than any other; humans who evolved from nothing are nothing. Since they lack any inherent destiny, they can live asthey choose. Thus there is no objective basis for human dignity; no logical reason to believe that we humans are intrinsically better than (or superiorto) any other living thing.It is perfectly logical therefore that activists fight for the right of endangered specieseven insectswhile not blinking an eye at the abortion ofunborn humans. Or as Ingrid Newkirk, president of People For The Ethical Treatment of Animals, puts it, A rat is a pig is a dog is a boy.13Ironically, neo-naturalism descends to a wild perversion, even a reversal, of Darwinism. The fittest who have survived now have to fight for thesurvival of species which cannot survive without their help, but cant think of themselves as in any way an inherently more valuable kind of being.In the view of Scripture, neo-naturalists are persons who, while professing themselves to be wise, have become fools (Rom. 1:22; Ps. 14:1). Is itnot foolish to fight for the survival of non-human protoplasm while describing yourself as debased human protoplasm? Is this view of human lifeworth dying for? Or, even living for?Finally, the prevailing American (Western) world view is utopian and pragmatic. It is utopian because, if God is dead, then we are masters of ourown fate. And since we are basically good, with time and increasing knowledge, we are only going to get better. It is certainly true that, in the1212 12. For my prior discussion of Nihilism, see chapters 1 and 17.1313 13. Colson, 176.

twentieth century, we have advanced in science, technology, and the production of human knowledge more than in all previous centuries combined.Yet we find little evidence of human social and moral improvement. In this century, wars have been waged on a magnitude never known before.Brutal rulers subject their own people to untold misery. Stronger nations inflict genocide upon the weaker ones. Human beings are subjected to everyconceivable form of horror. Murder, rape, incest, child abuse, greed, betrayal, bloodshed, and other evils threaten the very survival of society. Canthis by any stretch of the imagination be called Utopia?Colson states that pragmatism is the only philosophical system made in America. With this philosophy, Does it work? has replaced Is itright? What are some of the natural consequences of this view?Abortion on demand: Whether or not a pregnancy and child works into a womans or couples life wins out over the life of the unborn child.No-fault divorce: If your marriage is not working, end it.Flight from ethics in business: If your profits are not what you wish, cheat! Lie!Disregard for the law: Break the law, but dont get caught!In summary, Colson writes, The 1960s adage, if it feels good, do it has been updated for the 1990s, if it works, do it. 14 This is pragmatismat its worst.This is the world with which we are at war. This is also the world to which we Christians have been called to bear witness to the eternal realityfound only in Christ.

26The Worlds Power, Its Character, Our VictoryContradictory Attitudes Toward the World?Many believers are puzzled by a seeming contradiction in Gods attitude towards the world. The apostle John has Jesus declaring that God lovesthe world in John 3:16, while the apostle Paul declares Gods negative view of the same world, as does the apostle John in his writings.The most common word translated world in the New Testament is the Greek word kosmos, used over 200 times by the New Testament writers.The rest are about equally divided between ain, age, and oikoumen, the inhabited world.1

Literally, kosmos means an ornament. Vine says it means order, arrangement, ornament, adornment. From kosmos we get our English word,cosmetic (1 Pet. 3:3). How did a word meaning ornament develop into one meaning the world? Leon Morris suggests that the outstandingornament is the universe, but to humanity the most significant part of that universe was the world in which they lived. A natural progression would beto regard the world as all of humanity, but this world at large crucified Christ. It is not surprising that the world in Scripture is used to meanmankind in opposition to Christ. 2Morris then makes an important statement which fits our study of the believers warfare with the world well. He says the world becomesthe sum total of the divine creation which has been shattered by the fall, which stands under the judgment of God, and in which Jesus Christ appears as theRedeemer. [The world is thus] in some sense personified as the great opponent of the Redeemer in salvation history. 3

As such the world is also the great opponent of the redeemed in salvation history. This negative use of the word kosmos is unique to the NewTestament. The word is not used this way in the Greek version of the Old Testament nor in Greek secular writings. Morris feels that for John and forPaul the shattering thing was that the men who inhabit this beautiful and ordered universe acted in an ugly and unreasonable way when they cameface-to-face with Christ4 (John 1:10; 7:48; 8:12, 23; 9:5; 12:31, 4546; 14:17, 2730; 15:18; 16:711, 20, 33; 17:6, 9, 1318; 25).Yet all is not hopeless. This world of human beingsshattered as they are by the Fall and living in hostility to Godis the object of Gods mostintense love. Did not Jesus say: For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son? Morris observes, It is true that the world is notinterested in the things of God, but it is not true that God reciprocates. . . . The whole work of salvation which God accomplished in Christ is directedto the world5 (John 1:29; 3:1617; 4:42; 6:33; 6:51; 12:47).Morris then points out that the success of Christs saving ministry to the world is revealed in the references to the Lords overthrow of Satan, theprince of this world (John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11). Thus, Jesus can affirm that he has overcome the world (John 16:33). This victory over Satan and theworld by the Lord Jesus Christ does not alter the fact that the world basically opposed him, and still opposes him.Perhaps Gods relationship with the world could be called a love/hate relationship. God loves worldly men and women, the entire human race,sinful as it is and living its own life of separateness and rebellion against God. He has provided full pardon for the sins of the world in the Cross ofHis Son (2 Cor. 5:1821).God hates the world system, however. The world system also hates Him (John 7:7; 1417). Its philosophies of life blind men to Gods love andreinforces their sinful separateness from him. In this sense, we could define our enemy, the world, as the collective, social expression of the activitiesof our other two enemies, the enemy from within, the flesh, and the enemy from without, evil supernaturalism. Once again we see that both sin andspiritual warfare are multidimensional: warfare with the flesh, with the world, and with evil supernaturalism.To better understand the evil power of the world in its warfare against the believer, we examine Johns description of the world in 1 John 2:1517and two key references in Pauls letter to the Galatians.1 John 2:1517The CommandJohn begins with a double command, Do not love the world, nor the things in the world (v. 15a). Wuest, in his comments on this passage,quotes Vincent as affirming that the double negative and the double usage of the word kosmos refers to the biblical view of the world as the sumtotal of human life in the ordered world, considered apart from, alienated from, and hostile to God, and of the earthly things which seduce fromGod6 (John 7:7; 15:18; 17:9, 14; 1 Cor. 1:2021; 2 Cor. 7:10; James 4:4).He comments further saying, much in this world system is religious, cultured, refined, and intellectual. But it is anti-God and anti-Christ, so itis understandable why John continues with the shattering affirmation If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him (1 John 2:15b).The word for love here is agape, but without the unique Christian meaning given when it refers to Gods love and the love of true believers, orself-sacrificing love. According to Wuest, in secular Greek the word means fondness or affection for an object because of its value [to the lover].Wuest then states that, This is how John is using the word here to refer to love for the world. It is a love of approbation, of esteem. Demas is saidto have loved this present age. He found it precious and thus came to love it (2 Tim. 4:10). Wuest next points out that the main verb in this sentence

is a present imperative and speaks of the act of forbidding the continuance of an action already going on.7 The world was still precious to some ofthe Christians of Johns day. Is it still precious to us in our day? I am afraid it is.John then affirms that if one continues to regard the world or the things in the world as precious, it reveals that God is really not precious to thatperson.Two Reasons Not To Love the WorldJohn next gives two basic reasons why the Christian is to love God and his brother (1 John 2:5,10; 4:1920) but is not to love the world. First,John says, love for the Father and love for the world are mutually exclusive. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him (v. 15).John Stott explains, If a man is engrossed in the outlook and pursuits of the world which rejects Christ, it is evident he has no love for theFather8 (James 4:4; Matt. 6:24).Next John points out the transience of the world as contrasted with the eternality of the one who does the will of God: And the world is passingaway, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God abides forever (1 John 2:17).Aspects of the World SystemOnes view of reality determines ones values. Four basic affirmations underlie the Christians belief systems. These in turn determine both theChristians values and the conduct that results from those values.God has revealed Himself in human history as ultimate, absolute reality.Because of Gods self-revelation, the human race has a perfect and unchangeable foundation upon which to build its beliefs and its values and towhich to conform its conduct.Humanity cannot know true reality apart from a meaningful relationship with this self-disclosing God.Without a relationship with God based on Gods self-disclosure (primarily in the Scriptures and in His Son), humanitys beliefs will be flawed, theirvalues distorted, and their conduct unwholesome. Tragedy will result and increase.As we discussed in the last chapter, this traditional, historic biblical view of reality is being aggressively and persistently challenged and rejectedin contemporary Western and American culture, even though these cultures ultimately owe their uniqueness to the biblical world view.Yet Western culture seems adamant in progressively rejecting its own historic, theistic roots and abandoning itself to a lifestyle described inScripture as the pursuit of the lusts of the flesh, the lusts of the eyes, and the boastful pride of life. (1 John 2:16). In verse 15, John directs us not tolove the things in the world, thus giving us a fourfold description of the things in the world, all it has to offer. He begins with the lust of theflesh.The Lust of the FleshAs already examined, these lusts represent the personal dimension of sin, the warfare that wages within us (Gal. 5:17). The word lust literallymeans strong desire and can refer to good desire, even Gods desire for us (James 4:5). It is usually used in Scripture with a negative connotation,however. Wuest says, The lust of the flesh is the passionate desire or craving that comes from our evil nature.9Slavery to the lusts of the flesh, John says, is really all there is in the world. While often outwardly paying lip service to high ethical standards,the world is powerless to live by these standards. They are violated everywhere, by almost everyone, all the time. Of course, if the non-theistic viewof reality is the correct one, there really can be no moral absolutes. One is really free to satisfy himself. Thats what the media in most of the worldtells us, daily.

This is not so for the church, nor for the Christian, however. We have moral absolutes given to us by God. He has caused them to be written in theBible for our benefit. While the world shouts to gain our attention and to undermine our morals, all the believer is responsible to do and able to do isto say No! We are able to say No! because those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires (Gal. 5:24).This is how we win the battle against the lusts of the flesh which are daily stimulated to action by this evil world, Paul says. To the world and to theflesh we say NO! In contrast, to the Holy Spirit we say YES! (Gal. 5:1617).In his excellent appendix entitled The Term Flesh in Galatians 5:24, Needham develops this truth in greater detail. He writes:10A Christian is one who because he is Christs has of necessity declared death to in the flesh life in terms of its passions and lusts. Since God has finished offthe person I once was by the crucifixion of Christ I as a new man have made my declaration concerning the finishing off of my flesh.

In other words, God himself has already brought about the death of the old self, the old I, by union with Christ in his death. Paul declares thisboth in Romans 6 and in Galatians 2:20. Now, as a new person in Christ, I am able to say no to the lusts of the flesh. I am able to crucify the fleshwith its passions and lusts.For this reason, the believer is able to win the battle with the lusts of the world, also. Indeed, he is guaranteed victory over the lusts of the worldbecause he is crucified to the world and the world to him (Gal. 6:14) and because he is born of God (1 John 5:45). By union with my loving Lord inHis crucifixion I am dead to the world and its lusts and the world is dead to me. As Charles Spurgeon is said to have declared, Come, world, with allyour allurements. What can you do to me, a dead man?The Lust of the EyesJohn next describes the world as a system of activity energized by the lust of the eyes. The former lusts, those of the flesh, come from withinus. The latter, those of the eyes, come from without, from the world which surrounds us.C. H. Dodd says that the lust of the eyes refers to the tendency to be captivated by the outward show of things, without inquiring into their realvalue.11 William Barclay carries this one step further, writing:12It is the spirit which can see nothing without wishing to acquire it, and which, having acquired it flaunts it in the face of man. It is the spirit which believes thathappiness is to be found in the things which money can buy and which the eyes can see.

The lust of the eyes became the downfall of many persons in Scripture. In fact, humanitys original sin was partially precipitated by just suchlusts. Genesis says, when the woman saw . . . it was a delight to the eyes . . . she took . . . (Gen. 3:6).We are all familiar with the sin of Achan. By his own confession things went well with him until I saw among the spoil a beautiful mantle fromShinar and two hundred shekels of silver and a bar of gold fifty shekels in weight, then I coveted them and took them (Josh. 7:21). I saw . . . Icoveted . . . I took.And who does not know the story of the double sin of David, that of adultery and, indirectly, that of murder? It all began with the lust of Davidseyes (2 Sam. 1112).The lust of the eyes continues to be a major stumbling block for Christians in general and Christian leaders in particular. One of the majorproblems with bondage to the lust of the eyes is lack of satisfaction. We obtain what our eyes have lusted for only to find that our appetite is notsatisfied, so we look again and lust for more. The writer of Ecclesiastes wrote long ago that the eye is not satisfied with seeing (Eccl. 1:8). InProverbs he says, the eyes of man [are never] satisfied (Prov. 27:20).This is what is in the world, John says, the lust of the eyes. Wuest calls these lusts the passionate cravings of the eyes for satisfaction. 13What do we know of such passionate cravings? How guilty are all of us of the lust of the eyes? What do we do with our eyes when we are alone,1010 10.1111 11.1212 12.1313 13.

when no one is watching us? If we obey Gods Word in Romans 6:13 and present the members of our bodies as instruments of righteousness toGod that will include our eyes. We will then begin to enjoy the victory over the worlds attempts to captivate our eyes through lust.The Pride of LifeJohn next reveals that the things in the world include the boastful pride of life. Wuest says this phrase refers to the vainglory which belongsto the present life.14 He says the word life used here refers to that which sustains life like food, clothing, and shelter. The picture is that of the manand woman who seek a life built upon all that the world has to offer.John Stott writes about the boastful pride of life.15The pride of life is . . . an arrogance or vainglory relating to ones external circumstances, whether wealth or rank or dress, pretentious ostentation (Plummer),the desire to shine or outshine others in luxurious living (Ebrad).

A repulsive new theology has developed in our day to justify a luxuriant lifestyle. Its emphasis is on this-world prosperity, an all this and heaventoo theology. Something good is going to happen to you. Seed money. Name it and claim it. God wants you to prosper. Wealth is a giftfrom the Lord. Health and wealth are always Gods will for his children. God owns the cattle on a thousand hills. He wants to share them withyou. Visualize what you want. Speak the word of faith, and it will be yours.Such a prosperity doctrine is possible only in an advanced middle-class economy. I would like to see its advocates proclaim it among the starvingChristians of Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the thousands of true believers who are found among the homeless in the Western world.This is not the supracultural gospel of Scripture with its emphasis on a simple lifestyle. It is a culturally distorted message based on faultyexegesis of a few Scripture passages twisted to advocate wealth and prosperity as the norm for all Gods people. The prosperity message conflictswith Jesus teaching in Matthew 6:1921 and 19:1626. It is contradicted by the apostle Pauls words in 1 Timothy 6:614 and Hebrews 13:5,1314.In 1 Timothy 6:611 Paul writes:But godliness actually is a means of great gain, when accompanied by contentment. For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out ofit either. And if we have food and covering, with these we shall be content. But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish andharmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered awayfrom the faith, and pierced themselves with many a pang. But flee from these things, you man of God; and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love,perseverance and gentleness.

Syndicated columnist Cal Thomas sums up the pride of life of much of American culture and the contemporary U.S. religious prosperitytheology:16A moral alarm clock is going off in America, and not many politicians hear it . . . Our leaderspoliticians, economists, technocrats and even preachershaveconvinced us that more is better and much more is best. But increasing numbers of us do not like where we have been led. . . .Humility is one of our least taught and least appreciated character traits. You cant major in it at Harvard. You cant acquire it by mail, and it is virtually extinct inpolitical, scientific and in much of contemporary religious leadership. No one would watch (on T.V.) Lifestyles of the Poor and Humble. The rich and famous arewho we want to emulate. Even some of the preachers have caught the disease and live like kings and not like the servants their Leader called them to be.The cultural corruption that grips us is more dangerous than (enemy) missiles. Nations do not fail because of adversity. Nations fail because of prosperity andpride.Drugs, crime, teen sex, AIDS and the rest are not a result of failed politics so much as they are the consequences of failed morals and of a politics that has beenisolated from spiritual concerns.Not even the preachers are safe from the cultural collapse. If we dont turn from our wicked ways and soon, that moral alarm clock . . . might turn out to be a timebomb.1414 14. Wuest, 128.1515 15. Stott, 100.1616 16. Cal Thomas, A Moral Alarm Clock, San Jose Mercury News, (January 28, 1988).

Galatians 1:4The apostle Paul expresses the New Testament view of the world and the Christians relationship to that world in two passages in Galatians. Thefirst is Galatians 1:4. There Paul writes that Jesus gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us out of this present evil age, according to thewill of our God and Father.Paul uses ain in Greek to express the world here. Literally it means age, a period of time. Vine writes, It is marked in the New Testamentusage by spiritual or moral characteristics and is sometimes translated world. 17Trench vividly describes the ain, the age referred to here by Paul as Gods and the believers mortal enemy. He writes that the ain representsall that floating mass of thoughts, opinions, maxims, speculations, hopes, impulses, aims, aspirations, at any time current in the world, which it may be impossibleto seize and accurately define, but which constitutes a most real and effective power, being the moral or immoral atmosphere which at every moment of our liveswe inhale, again inextricably to exhale.18

Thus Paul asserts this age, this world, is evil. It threatens the believers relationship to God so much that, while being forced to continue living inthis world, the believer must be delivered from its power and its control.Paul also says that this world is so totally evil that one of the major purposes of the redemptive work of Christ was to deliver us out of thispresent evil age. Wuest says that the word translated deliver (exaire) means to pluck out, to draw out, to rescue, to deliver.19The word strikes the keynote of the letter. The Gospel is a rescue, an emancipation from a state of bondage. The word here denotes, not a removal from, but arescue from the power of the ethical characteristics of the present age.

Wuest comments on the Greek word chosen here by Paul to express evil, ponros. He contrasts ponros with another and more widely used word

for evil in the New Testament, kakos. Ponros is the stronger word for evil, revealing evil that seeks not only to express its own evil nature but alsoseeks to draw others into its evil web.20The kakos man may be content to perish in his own corruption, but the ponros man is not content unless he is corrupting others as well, and drawing them intothe same destruction with himself. Satan is not called the kakos one but the ponros one. This present age is described by Paul as ponros. . . . This present agetherefore is not content to perish in its own corruption, but seeks to drag all men with it down to its own inevitable destruction.

Galatians 6:14Pauls second major reference to the world in Galatians is found in Galatians 6:14. There the apostle writes, But may it never be that I shouldboast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. The world (here, kosmos) isso evil, Paul is saying, that the only way of deliverance from its power is through a double crucifixion. The world has been crucified to us and we tothe world.The idea of being united with Christ in His death and in His crucifixion is a familiar teaching of Paul (Rom. 6:1f; Gal. 2:20; 5:24; Col. 2:20f; 3:14). In Galatians 6:14 the idea is the same, this time with focus on the world. The world, Paul is saying, strives to bring us into bondage to itsdeclared values and philosophies be they secular or religious. We reject both. We are released from the worlds point of view through ouridentification with Christ in his crucifixion. He died in our behalf unto the worlds ways and we have been united with God in His ways. The world,in turn, no longer has any claims upon us. It is dead to us, crucified unto us.1717 17.1818 18.1919 19.2020 20.

John Eadie focuses his words on Pauls personal experience in Galatians 6:14, which is applicable to all believers:21Each had been nailed to the cross; each to the other was dead. Christs cross effected this separation. It was the result of neither morbid disappointment, nor of thebitter wail of vanity of vanities, nor of a sense of failure in worldly pursuits, nor of the persecutions he had undergonescourging, imprisonment, hunger, thirst,fastings, and nakedness. By none of these things did he die to the world. But it was by his union with the Crucified One: death in Him and with Him was his deathto the world, and the death of that world to him.

These are gripping words. They present to us the truth that we, as Jesus, are not of this world (John 1517). He has set us free from bondage tothis world. The longer I live my Christian life in this world and the more I counsel bruised and afflicted fellow Christians the more the words of Jesusin John 16:33 ring in my mind and heart:These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.

While living in this world, the world is not my true home. I am a citizen of the kingdom of God, not the kingdoms of this world. He has defeatedthis evil world in my behalf and brought me into His kingdom. Never in the world will I find true peace, but only in Him. In Him I can, daily, win thewar with the world.The World Is Passing AwayLastly, John affirms that the things in the world are transitory. He writes, And the world is passing away, and also its lusts (v. 17a). If theworld itself is passing away it is obvious that the things in the world will go the way of the world. Again he sums up the world and all it has to offerin one word, lusts.We know the world is passing away because we see its values destroying goodness, freedom, and even life itself. The pragmatism we discussedin the last chapter is called vulgar relativism by the well-known Christian writer, Michael Novak. Novak affirms that this world view underminesthe culture of liberty. If it triumphs, free institutions may not survive the twenty-first century. His reasoning? An age wrong about God is almostcertain to be wrong about man.22 Ours is an age which is certainly wrong about God. And it is increasingly obvious that it is an age which is clearlywrong about man.The late General Omar Bradley, one of the great heroes of World War II, put it this way: We have grasped the mystery of the atom, but we haverejected the Sermon on the Mount. The world has achieved brilliance without wisdom, power without conscience. Ours is a world of nuclear giants,but we are ethical infants. We know more about war than we do about peace, [more about] killing than living.The lie about both God and man that permeates Western societyand the entire world for that mattermust be challenged by truth. In the finalanalysis, Jesus Himself is the truth (John 4:16). He came to bear witness to the truth. His Word is truth. This truth sets men free. But to bear witnessto the truth to a world which has strayed from the path of truth, the Church must overcome the world as Jesus overcame the world. Too many of ushave become so much like the world we have lost the right to speak of truth. As author John White states, the world at present influences the Churchmore than the Church influences the world.For a Christian to be overcome by the world and the things in the world is one of the greatest of all tragedies. He will find he has lived for thatwhich is only transitory. When his life work is tried by fire, as the apostle Paul affirms it will, he will find that his work will be burned up. True,he himself shall be saved, yet so as through fire (1 Cor. 3:1315). Who wants to be saved that way?This is the world with which we are at war. It is our enemy just as it is Gods enemy. We must choose to be obedient to God and reject thedeceptions of the world. Finally, we must never forget that the worlds god is the devil (2 Cor. 4:4). This is a thoroughly demonized world.Our Victory over the World2121 21. John Eadie, Commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians (Minneapolis, Minn.: James and Klock Christian PublishingCompany, 1977a), 467468.2222 22. Michael Novak, Awakening from Nihilism, First Things (August/September, 1994): 1822.

Is there victory over the world, or are we destined to passively allow it to conform us to its own mold? Yes, there is victory! Victory over theworld is as much our birthright as is victory over the flesh and over the devil. That victory comes through Christ, of course, but in a way that differsfrom the specific means of victory over the flesh and over the devil. We win over the flesh, as we have seen, by putting its deeds to death and makingno provision for its wrong desires. We win over the devil by resisting him, even as we submit ourselves fully unto the Lord.With the world, however, we triumph neither by killing it (as we do the deeds of the flesh) nor by directly resisting it (as we do the devil). Instead,we detach ourselves from this world, we ignore it. We win over the world by learning what it means to be in the world, but not of it. In Galatians6:14, the apostle Paul testifies to this path of certain victory over the world through the cross of Christ:May it never be that I should boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. ( NASB)

In Christ, believers are removed from life in this world (or this present evil age Gal. 1:4) and are transplanted into new life, the life of the ageto come which is, in part, already here through Christ (Col. 1:13). Those who are in Christ, whom Paul would describe with himself as those who byfaith are crucified with Christ, receive by their new location in Christ a new relationship with the old world: In a word, they are dead to it. Theyhave been crucified to it, and it to them. So we boom a hearty Amen! to Charles Spurgeons flouting of the world: Come, world with all yourenticements. What can you offer to me, a dead man?Victory over the world is ours daily through continually choosing to practice obedient faith (1 John 5:5). If we walk in the obedience of the faithwhich overcomes the world, then our end will be the same as that promised by the writer: the one who does the will of God abides forever (1 John2:17b).

PART THREE

A Survey of Biblical Teaching

Old Testament27Warfare in ParadiseOur study of biblical teaching on spiritual warfare begins with Genesis, the book whose name is Hebrew for beginning, or more literally,generation or family history.1The primary purpose of Genesis is to provide the beginning of the history of Gods elect nation, Israel. In so doing, Genesis 1 gives us the originof the heavens and the earth; Genesis 211 tells of the creation of man, mans fall, and the origin of the nations; and Genesis 1250 deals with theorigin of Israel: the call of Abraham, the history of the patriarchs, the progenitors of the Hebrew race.Genesis 111 gives us the necessary background to the call of Abraham and the beginning of the nation of Israel. These chapters also reveal theorigin and early history of cosmic-earthly spiritual warfare in Genesis 3.

11 1. Gordon J. Wenham, Genesis 115 (Waco, Texas: Word, 1987), xxi.

An unidentified cosmic being called the serpent introduces spiritual warfare into human experience. As we have repeatedly stated, this means thatcosmic spiritual warfare had begun before Genesis 3. Genesis tells us nothing about the origin of that heavenly warfare. In fact the rest of the Bibleprimarily reveals it as a given, a fact to be accepted with little or no explanation. We will have to be content with what the Bible says and be carefulwith speculations about what it does not say.The Bible does say enough, however, to help us understand that a heavenly rebellion occurred among the angels of God, probably before manscreation and certainly before the Fall. This rebellion resulted in an on-going conflict between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of Satan.The early disastrous progression of that conflict on earth is outlined in Genesis 411, forming the rationale behind Gods new beginning withhumanity in Noah and his family (Gen. 69). God will later start again when he calls one man, Abraham, out of the spiritual degradation, idolatry,polytheism, and gross immorality into which the human race has fallen. From the city of Ur of Chaldea God calls Abraham to Himself (Gen. 11:2612:3). The rest of the Old Testament develops Gods unique revelation of Himself to and through Abrahams descendants, Israel.Commentator Gordon J. Wenham gives great attention to the world view clash Westerners experience with the early chapters of Genesis. Becausewe approach these chapters with our Western scientific mind-set, we expect Genesis to give us answers to the Bible-versus-science debate about thesix days of Creation and like subjects. But Genesis 111, and especially Genesis 13, were written from a religious, not a scientific perspective:2The Bible-versus-science debate has, most regrettably, sidetracked readers of Genesis 1. Instead of reading the chapter as a triumphant affirmation of the powerand wisdom of God and the wonder of His creation, we have been too often bogged down in attempting to squeeze Scripture into the mold of the latest scientifichypothesis or distorting scientific facts to fit a particular interpretation.When allowed to speak for itself, Genesis 1 looks beyond such minutiae. . . . Genesis 1, by further affirming the unique status of man, his place in the divineprogram, and Gods care for him, gives a hope to mankind that atheistic philosophies can never legitimately supply.

Genesis was written primarily to the people of its day and only secondarily to future generations. The teachings of Genesis had to meet the realand felt needs of the people to whom and for whom it was written or it probably would not have been written at all.Genesis 111 shares a common spiritualistic world view with all Israels Near Eastern neighbor nations. Many of the accounts in Genesis 111are similar to accounts covering the same themes found in the history and mythology of Israels neighbors.3 Yet it is the differences between thebiblical account and the pagan accounts that make Genesis 111 unique.4While admitting that Genesis and the ancient Near East probably have more in common with each other than either has with modern secularthought, Wenham says that the similarities between biblical and non-biblical thinking . . . are overshadowed by the differences. One of thesedifferences is mans place in the created order. According to Oriental mythology, man was created by the gods as an afterthought to supply the godswith food. Genesis 1 portrays man as the climax of creation, and instead of mans providing the gods with food, God provided the plants as food forman (Gen. 1:29).5The same theme of the Lords concern for mans welfare is very apparent in Genesis 2. Here He first creates man, then provides him with agarden to dwell in, with animals as his companions, and last of all, with a wife.6The ancient Oriental background to Genesis 111 shows it to be concerned with rather different issues from those that tend to preoccupy modern readers. It isaffirming the unity of God in the face of polytheism, his justice rather than his caprice, his power as opposed to his impotence, his concern for mankind rather thanhis exploitation. And whereas Mesopotamia clung to the wisdom of primeval man, Genesis records his sinful disobedience. Because as Christians we tend to

Wenham, xlvxlvi, 3940.

assume these points in our theology, we often fail to recognize the striking originality of the message of Genesis 111 and concentrate on subsidiary points thatmay well be of less moment.

George Ernest Wright, former Professor of Old Testament History and Theology at Harvard University, rejects the traditional critical position thatJudaism passed through a series of predictable evolutionary stages from animism, to polytheism, to monotheism, and, finally, to biblical theism. Sucha view, he says, fails to recognize Gods supernatural intervention in the lives of His elect nation and fails to see the great difference in the Jewishview of God from the polytheism of the nations that surrounded them.7 This insight is crucial to our Genesis 3 studies.Six Significant Features of the Creation of HumanityThe purpose of mans creation is revealed in Genesis 1:2631. We will not do an in-depth study but only touch on six major features of the storythat directly relate to the Genesis 3 story of mans fall.1. God creates man in the image and likeness of God (vv. 26a,27a). Debate continues over the exact meaning of mans creation in Gods imageand likeness.8 We will not join that debate. We will, however, stress mans being made in the image and likeness of God. It is crucial to ourunderstanding why the serpent sets out to seduce man into disobeying his Creator and heavenly Father.Whatever the meaning of man as created in the image and likeness of God, Scripture states that only man is made in the divine image. This seemsto be the one thing that separates man forever from all the rest of Gods creation.9Wenham helps us understand why the serpent interferes in the God-man relationship. He writes that man isthe apex of the created order. . . . The image of God means that in some sense men and women resemble God and the angels, though where the resemblance lies isleft undefined in this chapter. The divine image does enable man to be addressed directly by his creator and makes him in a real sense Gods representative onearth, who should rule over the other creatures as a benevolent king. 10

No wonder Gods enemy, the Devil, quickly makes himself mans enemy. When Satan understoodhe is not omniscient and, like us, has to learnthe plan of God to make a creature more like God Himself than any other creature God had made, his primary strategy of defiance against the willof God then became to seduce Gods man into unbelief and disobedience to the law of God. Since he could not attack God directly, he could nowattack Him indirectly by attacking His in-the- image-and-likeness-of-God creature called man. This gives real insight into the mysteries of theGenesis 3 account of mans fall.2. God gives man total dominion over the earth (1:26b,28c). So complete is mans lordship over the earth, he is to subdue the earth andrule . . . over every living thing that moves on the earth (1:2628). How better could Satan war against the rule of God than by warring againstGods ruler on earth?3. Man is made both male and female (v. 27b).77 7. G. Ernest Wright, The Old Testament Against Its Environment (Oberlin, Ohio: Graduate School of Theology, 1949), 941.88 8. For further study of the image of God, see the critical commentaries on Genesis in bibliography and major books onsystematic theology and any major Bible dictionary or encyclopedia for an overview of the most commonly-held opinions. ISBEand ZPEB have excellent overviews.99 9. Dr. Fred Dickason (as well as other Bible scholars) is of the opinion that possibly angels too were created in the image andlikeness of God just as was man (Dickason, Angels Elect and Evil [Chicago: Moody, 1975], 32). This may be true, but the Biblesays nothing about the matter. That does not mean that Dickason is wrong.The focus of the Bible is on the God-man relationship, not on the God-angel relationship. While the latter is occasionallyspoken of, the Bibles purpose is not to develop an involved theology of angels in relationship to God their Creator, but more atheology of man in relationship with God. Angelic activity is primarily revealed in Scripture in the God-man relationship.1010 10. Wenham, 38.

4. The couple is told to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth with their progeny (v. 28b). All Satan has to do to corrupt the entire earth,therefore, is to corrupt this one pair who will multiply and fill the earth with sons and daughters born in their image (5:3).5. God placed a special blessing upon the regal, God-like pair (v. 28a). Derek Kidner comments thatto bless is to bestow not only a gift but a function (cf. 1:22; 2:3; cf. also the parting blessings of Isaac, Jacob and Moses), and to do so with warm concern. At itshighest, it is God turning full face to the recipient (cf. Num. 6:2426) in self giving (Acts 3:26).11

To seduce such a God-blessed pair in joining his rebellion against the rule of God would be Satans greatest victory, perhaps even greater than hisprior seduction of a large number of Gods angels into throwing off the lordship of God (2 Pet. 2:4; Jude 6; Rev. 12:79).6. God states His pleasure in man and in all of His creation (v. 31). Kidner quotes Karl Barth as saying, It is a part of the history of creation thatGod contemplated His work and confronted it as a completed totality. Kidner remarks thatby His grace something other than Himself is granted not only existence but a measure of self-determination. And if the details of His work were pronouncedgood (4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25), the whole is very good. Old and New Testament alike endorse this in their call to a thankful acceptance of things material (e.g., Ps.104:24; 1 Tim. 4:35) as both from and for God.12

All of Gods earthly creation is contemplated by God Himself as not only good but very good separately and collectively (vv. 4, 10, 12, 18,21, 25, 31). Thus Satan has within his reach the ability to gain vengeance against the God he hates. If Satan can make bad and very bad what Godsees as good and very good, he will strike the most devastating blow against God since his successful corruption of a part of Gods angelickingdom.WE BEGIN WITH A SNAKEThe words of Genesis 3:1 have probably aroused more discussion than most other verses in Genesis.Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, Indeed, has God said, You shall not eatfrom any tree of the garden?

The first area of controversy centers around the identification of the tempter as a serpent or snake. Was it a snake as we know snakes today? 13 Didthe animal first walk erect and revert to an animal crawling on its belly only after it was cursed by God?14 The answers to these questions involveconjecture. The Scriptures do not say. It is therefore not important for us to know the answer. Without for a moment denying the historicity of thestory, since we are dealing with historical symbolism, we become hopelessly sidetracked when we ask detailed questions about the symbols chosenby God and the writer of Genesis.The original readers of the Old Testament did not usually raise the kind of questions about the text of the Bible that we raise. They understood theOld Testament to be Gods chosen means to communicate what they needed to know to walk in obedience to God. They were not primarilyspeculative thinkers but more practical thinkers, while we tend to be more speculative than practical.15 The Jews understood that in the Near Easterncultural imagery, Snakes were symbolic of life, wisdom and chaos . . . all themes that have points of contact with the present narrative, Wenhamsays.16

Wenham tries to handle the often repeated question, Why did a snake appear and tempt the woman? After listing some of the more commonanswers often given in response to the question as to why the writer wrote in symbolic language in general and with the symbolism of a serpent inparticular, Wenham writes, Within the world of Old Testament animal symbolism a snake is an obvious candidate for an anti-God symbol, notwithstanding its creation by God.17Wenham refers to Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14 where the snake was counted as an archetypal unclean animal. He says, Its swarming,writhing locomotion puts it at the farthest point from those pure animals that can be offered in sacrifice.18So for any Israelite familiar with the symbolic values of different animals, a creature more likely than a serpent to lead man away from his creator could not beimagined. The serpent Leviathan, mentioned in Ugaritic mythology, is also referred to in Isaiah 27:1 (cf. Job 26:13) as a creature destroyed by God, furtherevidence of the familiar association in biblical times of serpents and Gods enemies.

Though some modern scholars like Jeffrey Burton Russell question that the writer of Genesis intended to equate the serpent with the tool ofSatan or Satan himself,19 it is not necessary to prove that he did to maintain the position that Wenham is advocating, a position with which I andmost conservative biblical scholars agree totally.In conclusion, I would affirm that the symbol of a talking serpent was meant by the writer of Genesis to communicate what the story reveals. Thetemptation to rebel against the lordship of God did not arise from within Eve and, later in Adam, but came first from without by a personal, probablysupernatural, being who was dedicated to evil and sought to give birth to the rebellion of humanity against God.20W. H. Griffith Thomas quotes one of the greatest biblical scholars of a past generation, Dr. James Orr, on Genesis 3. Orr gives an excellentoverview of what we have been examining.21Temptationconsider its source. The practical character of the narrative is clearly seen in the reference to the serpent as the immediate cause of human sin. . . .There is no reference to the problem of how and when Satan sinned. The one point of stress is laid upon sin in relation to man, and we are taught veryunmistakably two great truths: (1) That God is not the author of sin, and (2) that sin came to man from without, and was due to a power of evil suggestion andinfluence other than that which came from mans own nature.

The serpent is described as more crafty than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. The word translated crafty is literallysubtle. It is the Hebrew word aroom or arum. Calvin says it is the word by which the Hebrews designate the prudent as well as the crafty. It is notagreed among interpreters in what sense the serpent is said to be aroom . . . Some, therefore, would take it in a good, others in a bad sense. Calvintakes it in the positive sense. He says the serpent is introduced with unique skills making it more acute and quick-sighted beyond all others. 22But Satan perverted to his own deceitful purposes the gift which had been divinely imparted to the serpent. . . . that gift which has proved so destructive to thehuman race has (probably now) been withdrawn from the serpent.

With his great insight into Hebrew literature, Wenham comments about the writers vivid description of the crafty serpent.23The scene opens with a circumstantial clause describing the snake as more shrewd than all the wild animals of the plain which the Lord God had made. The restof the scene is dialogue between the snake and the woman (cf. scene 5, vv. 913). Now, explicit characterization of actors in the story is rare in Hebrew narrative,so it seems likely that in noting the snakes shrewdness the narrator is hinting that his remarks should be examined very carefully. He (the serpent) may not besaying what he seems to be saying. Perhaps we should not take his words at their face value as the woman did.

THE SNAKE AND THE SIN

The writer of Genesis 3 begins the dialogue between the serpent and Eve in verse 1 with the words, And he said to the woman. . . . Theserpents speaking is another subject of endless controversy. I believe Keil and Delitzsch are correct when they affirm that the serpent, as is true of allother members of the animal kingdom, did not possess the power of speech when created by God. It spoke only because it was possessed by an evilspirit, that is, Satan, the Devil.24The authors make three excellent points as to why Satan was not identified as the source of the temptation: first, because God did not want Adamand Eve to be able to blame Satan for their rebellion; second, because they alone are to blame for their sin. God ordained the testing of theirobedience because it was necessary to their spiritual development and self-determination. Finally, God only allowed Satan to tempt them in the formof a creature not only far inferior to God or an angel, but one inferior to themselves.25 Thus, Keil and Delitzsch say, They could have no excuse forallowing a mere animal to persuade them to break the commandment of God. For they had been made to have dominion over the beasts, not to taketheir own law from them.26The writer of Genesis next describes Eves actions after conversing with the serpent, the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that itwas a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise (v. 6). Wenham notes that now, in the womans eyes,the forbidden tree was no different from the other trees (see Gen. 2:9), and she desired the enlightenment it would bring. Her covetousness is described interminology that foreshadows the tenth commandment, (thou shalt not covet). Delight and desirable are from roots meaning to covet (Deut. 5:21; cf. Exod.20:17). When she gave it to her husband with her, and he ate, the man associated himself with her sin (cf. 3:6, 18; 7:7; 13:1). This last, decisive act ofdisobedience immediately preceded the description of the consequences. 27

Adam was not present during Eves deception by the serpent. The text is clear on that. Thus the emphasis of Scripture falls on the deception ofEve but not of Adam. If he had been present would the story have been different?God had given the commands to Adam (Gen. 2:1617). He evidently had passed them on to his wife. Yet when Eve quoted to the serpent theprohibition against eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, she did not get it exactly right (3:3). Why, is impossible to say.Gods words to Adam in verse 17 seems to be proof that Adam was not present during Eves deception by the serpent. He is charged by God forlistening to his wife, not for listening to the serpent. Since he was placed by God as head over Gods earthly creation he is held responsible for hisdisobedience. This is consistent with all biblical teaching that the human race sinned in Adam, not Eve.Francis A. Schaeffer affirms that the battle is lost or won in the mind. He says, The flow is from the internal to the external; the sin began in thethought world and flowed outward. The sin was, therefore, committed in the moment that she believed Satan instead of God.28

Schaeffer also notes how easily Eve was able to persuade Adam to join her. He says, Temptation is hard to resist when it is bound up with theman-woman relationship.29Two great drives are built into man. The first is his need for a relationship with God, and the second his need for a relationship to the opposite sex. A specialtemptation is bound up with his sexual drive. . . . While what happened in the Garden of Eden was a space-time historic event, the man-woman relationship andforce of temptation it must have presented to Adam is universal.

THE IMMEDIATE EFFECTS OF HUMANITYS SIN

The immediate effects of the sin of Adam and Eve are at least sevenfold.First, there is shame.Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked (3:7a). Many commentators attempt to spiritualize these wordssaying they refer primarily or even exclusively to shame in the presence of God.30 Thus their nakedness and guilt as they stand before God isspiritual.While the latter is true, that is not what verse 7 is saying, because the last verse of chapter 2 also speaks of their nakedness: And the man and hiswife were both naked and were not ashamed (2:25).What a difference between the man-woman relationship before and after the Fall! As we look at the words in 3:7, we have to ask if they knew oftheir nakedness before. When Adam looked upon Eve did not he see her nakedness and vice versa?The shame, however, is evidence of the immediate corruption of their total personality. They now look upon each other with soiled eyes. Theemotional grid through which visual stimulations reach their mind is defiled. Their conscience now tells them it is not right for them any longer to becontinually naked in each others presence.Until verse 7 Adam and Eve were together, naked without shame before each other and before God. They were so pure of mind and heart as Godmade them and so much one flesh in their marital relationship that they were as innocent as naked little children who frequently play together with nosense of shame.Derek Kidner says thatthe Serpents promise of eyes . . . opened came true in its fashion (and cf. 22), but it was a grotesque anti-climax to the dream of enlightenment. Man saw thefamiliar world and spoilt it now in the seeing, projecting evil onto innocence (cf. Titus 1:15) and reacting to good with shame and flight. His new consciousness ofgood and evil was both like and unlike the divine knowledge (3:22), differing from it and from innocence as a sick mans aching awareness of his body differs bothfrom the insight of the physician and the unconcern of the man in health. 31

This is an apt analogy. Before they were well; now they are sick. They project evil into all innocence. That was the immediate price of eyesopened by Satan, to see what they were not meant to see. Kidner follows with another insightful observation.32The fig leaves were pathetic enough . . . but the instinct was sound and God confirmed it (v. 21), for sins proper fruit is shame. The couple now ill at ease together,experienced a foretaste of fallen human relations in general. There is no road back. . . . Gods way is forward, for when the body is redeemed (Rom. 8:23) and loveis perfect we shall not be back in Eden but clothed with glory (2 Cor. 5:4).

Leupold writing on Satans promise, Ye shall be as gods, comments, What a sorry godlikeness, if we may use the paradox, and what a pitiableachievement on mans part.33Second, there is separation from God.2929 29.3030 30.3131 31.3232 32.3333 33.

They seek to hide themselves from His presence (v. 8). The sense of separation from God did not come until they directed their faces away fromeach other and towards God. They had forgotten about Him up until now. He, however, had not forgotten about them. As was evidently His custom,34God came to share His presence with His children.Leupold says God, of course, was fully aware of what had occurred. When He came to the man and his wife, instead of rushing out to be in Hispresence as they had done in the past, they hid from Him among the trees of the garden as if tree leaves could block His penetrating sight. Howconfused are the self-deceiving hearts of sinful men!Third, there was a lack of honesty before God (v. 10).Leupold says thatthe first words of fallen man lie before us, . . . a compound of half truth, evasion and attempted deception. So dreadfully altered has man become, the admissionthat he is afraid at hearing Gods voice is the only true thing about this statement. . . . Here is one of the most telling indictments of the viciousness and supremesinfulness of sin.35

Fourth, Adam blames others.

First he blames his wife (whats new under the sun?). Next it is his circumstances. Ultimately he blames God Himself for the terrible effects of hissin. Adam says, The woman whom Thou gavest to be with me, she gave me from the tree, and I ate (3:12).The divine inquest has been very brief, God firing three disarming questions at Adam (v. 9b,10). Adam is left truly naked before the all-seeingeyes of God. Leupold says, He that aspired to godlikeness now stands a shamefaced culprit without a word of defense left. The lame reply that hedoes make causes us to blush for him. It is a reply that offers further evidence of the complete corruption and contamination of all of mans nature bysin.36Fifth, there is immediate judgment upon the man and his wife, separately and then as a unit (vv. 1624).37Sixth, there is the forced separation of the man and the woman from the Paradise of God (vv. 2224).God expresses sadness over mans miserable state (v. 22a). Some have claimed that those words are a form of sarcasm on the part of God.Nothing could be further from the truth. As Keil and Delitzsch affirm, Irony at the expense of a wretched tempted soul might well befit Satan, butnot the Lord.38 Leupold says sadness might be the best word to describe the emotions of God as He speaks these words.39God then expels the damaged pair from the Garden of God (v. 24b). Keil and Delitzsch write of the symbolism involved here:40Had (mankind) continued in fellowship with God by obedience to the command of God, he might have eaten of [the tree of life], for he was created for eternal life.But after he had fallen through sin into the power of death, the fruit which produced immortality could only do him harm.Immortality in a state of sin is not the zoe aionios [eternal life] which God designed for man, but endless misery, which the Scriptures call the second death(Rev. 2:1; 20:6 and 15; 21:8). The expulsion from Paradise, therefore, was a punishment inflicted for mans good, intended, while exposing him to temporal death,to preserve him from eternal death.

3434 34. Leupold, 155157.

3535 35. Leupold, 157158.3636 36. Leupold, 159.3737 37. It is outside of the purpose of our study to deal with the separate judgments first upon the woman (v. 16) and then uponthe man (v. 1719). The outstanding commentaries I have been quoting all have excellent material on these two subjects.Schaeffers insights are outstanding, 69f.3838 38. Keil and Delitzsch, 107.3939 39. Leupold, 180.4040 40. Keil and Delitzsch, 107.

God placed both a cherubim and an ever-moving flaming sword to bar any reentrance to the Garden of Eden (v. 24). Cherubim seem to be thehighest ranking beings in the angelic hierarchy. They are revealed as surrounding the throne of God (Ezek. 1:22f; 10:1; Rev. 4:6). They stand in theimmediate presence of God and are especially active with Him in judgment, as here. Leupold quotes K. W. Well as saying, They are representativesand mediators of Gods presence in the world (Ps. 18:10). Leupold continues,The root from which the word may be derived would suggest that the word as such means a brilliant appearance . . . How these marvelous beings appeared waswell remembered by the Israelites at least, for they seemed to require no further description when they were told to make two cherubim and otherwise to use thefigures of cherubims for ornamental purposes [in the tabernacle], cf. Exod. 25:18; 26:1.41

The flaming sword is usually pictured as being in the hand of the cherubim, but that is not what the passage says (3:24b). The two were evidentlyseparate, the sword moving in every direction without the intervention of the cherubim. All this is powerful symbolism.Verse 24a uses a strong word: So He [the LORD God] drove the man out. What a shame! The pair who were made for the garden and the gardenfor them are forced out, expelled. Leupold says that Divine goodness aimed to make man feel his altered state very keenly; first blessed fellowship,then harsh expulsion.42All this because of sin! All this because Eve listened to the voice of the serpent and Adam listened to the voice of Eve! Neither bothered to listento the voice of God. They are the first human victims of defeat in spiritual warfare. They are war casualties. What terrible things soon follow thisdefeat!Seventh, the existence of on-going spiritual warfare is revealed (v. 15).So important is this subject and so crucial to the entire course of cosmic-earthly spiritual warfare, I save Genesis 3:15 for the next chapters.

28Enmity Between the SeedsGenesis 3:15The seventh immediate effect of the Fall is the revelation of ongoing spiritual warfare. It is based on Genesis 3:15, perhaps the most important versein the story of the Fall. Though these words did have immediate implications for Adam and Eve, they are primarily a prophecy of ongoing spiritualwarfare between humanity and the serpent. The strongest focus is on conflict between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent. Thatwarfare will continue until the seed of the woman finally crushes the head of the serpent. In the process, the serpent will painfully bruise the heel ofthe seed of the woman.While God interrogates Adam and Eve as to the cause of their disobedience (vv. 1113; of course, He already knew), when He turns to theserpent, He does not interrogate him at all. He pronounces judgment upon him for his terrible evil (vv. 1415). In fact, though the serpent is revealedas a unique creature with mind, emotions, will, and the faculty of speech (vv. 15), he never speaks again in the story before us. God does not allowhim to speak; does not even question him. He only passes judgment upon him.In contrast to Adam and Eve, no forgiveness, mercy, or redemption is extended to the serpent. Calvin says, He does not interrogate the serpent asHe had done the man and the woman because, in the animal itself there was no sense of sin, and because, to the devil He would hold out no hope ofpardon.14141 41. Leupold, 183184.4242 42. Leupold, 183.11 1. John Calvin, Genesis (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker, 1989), 165. Calvins discourse on this matter is worth reading, 165167.

We have already established that the original recipients of Genesis were people with a firm belief in the existence of evil, invisible, supernaturalspiritual beings that were both desirous and capable of influencing human actions towards evil. They would immediately know that such a being isrepresented by the serpent.All the nations of the Near East surrounding Israel had a highly developed demonology.2 The assumption of some scholars that the Jews had nodeveloped demonology or Satanology until the period of the Exile may be partially true, but it does not mean that they were not vividly aware of theexistence of a devil and demons.3Wenham correctly states, The Jews knew well that the serpent was either a symbol of a fallen spirit being later called Satan by them (Job 1:6;2:1; 1 Chron. 21:1) or that the animal was controlled or possessed by that evil spirit in bringing about mans fall.4R. Payne Smith, writing in The Ellicott Bible Commentary, comments on Gods words to the serpent in verse 14a, because you have done this. . ..The outward form of the condemnation is made suitable to the shape which the tempter had assumed; but the true force and meaning, especiallyin the last and most intense portion of the sentence, belong, not to the animal, but to Satan himself.53

THE SNAKE IS CURSED

One part of the curse falls only upon the animal (v. 14). Cursed are you more than all cattle. Then, he is cursed more than every beast of thefield (v. 14).6 Why are cattle singled out? The Hebrew word is behemah which simply means animals. Since, in the second part of the curse, the

beasts of the field are singled out (chayyath hassadheh, the wild beasts,) it is assumed the former means domesticated animals which directlyserve man, and the latter the undomesticated or wild animals.7Then God says, On your belly shall you go. As already mentioned many commentators see in this expression the suggestion that, before beingused by Satan to deceive man into rebellion against God, the serpent had legs, feet, or paws, and walked somewhat erect.8 R. Payne Smith rejects thisview:9But such a transformation belongs to the region of fable. . . . The meaning is that henceforward the serpents crawling motion is to be a mark of disgrace, and toSatan a sign of meanness and contempt. He won the victory over our guileless first parents, and still he winds in and out among men, ever bringing degradationwith him, and ever sinking with his victims into deeper abysses of shame and infamy.22 2. See Merrill F. Unger, Biblical Demonology (Chicago, Ill.: Scripture Press, 1955; Jeffrey Burton Russell, The Devil: Perceptionsof Evil from Antiquity to Primitive Christianity (Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 1987a); see the articles on the Religions ofthe Biblical World in G. W. Bromiley, ed., ISBE Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 1985) 3:79128.33 3. Russell, 174f; Unger, 1955, 9f; and G. Ernest Wrights two books, The Old Testament Against Its Environment (Oberlin, Ohio:Oberlin Graduate School of Theology, 1949); The God Who Acts (London: SCM Press, Ltd., 1969).44 4. Gordon J. Wenham, Genesis 115, WBC (Waco, Texas: Word, 1987), 7273.55 5. R. Payne Smith in Charles John Ellicott, A Bible Commentary for English Readers (New York: Cassell and Company, 1954)1:25.3Murphy, Edward F.: Handbook for Spiritual Warfare. Nashville : Thomas Nelson, 1997, c1996, S. 16166 6. The expression cursed are you is very strong. It usually means to invoke Gods judgment on someone. For an excellentdiscussion, see Wenham, 78.77 7. H. C. Leupold, Exposition of Genesis (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker, 1987), 161.88 8. Leupolds refutation of that view is outstanding, 232; see also Victor P. Hamilton, The Book of Genesis: Chapters 117 (GrandRapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1990), 196197; and Smith in Ellicott, 25.99 9. Smith, 25.

Smiths mixture of application first to the reptile and then to Satan is characteristic of most commentators; and not without reason, for Satan is theprinciple agent of mans fall, not the snake.10 Leupold quotes St. Chrysostom who said that God destroys the instrument that brought His creature tofall just as a loving father, when punishing the murderer of his son, might snap in two the sword or dagger with which the murder had beencommitted. 11Dust shall you eat all the days of your life is a parallel thought to the above. The serpents diet didnt change any more than did his means oflocomotion. Since he had tried to exalt himself above the stars in down-playing God to man, he is now brought down to the dust. The serpent doesntactually eat dust, but his condition of eating from the dust in which he crawls is to all of creation a sign of how God has cursed the serpent of old,Satan and the Devil (Rev. 12:9). Leupold says, with these words the higher agent that employed the serpent is brought before us in preparation forwhat follows in verse 15.12GENESIS 3:15All that we have been considering has now prepared us to examine one of the most well-known, but controversial, passages of Scripture, Genesis3:15.13 There have been two extremes among commentators in writing on this verse. Some see in it a type of mythology or allegory. Others view itliterally.The mythological-allegorical approaches would see it as a non-historical story written to explain mysterious aspects of reality. In ancientliterature this approach was often used to explain mans conflict with the animal kingdom, especially with serpents. It was used to explain the originof natural evil, and mans conflict with his fellow man, and the ongoing conflict between good and evil, or all at the same time.Those who follow the literal approach insist on a pre-Fall snake or other animal which possibly walked erect and had powers of mind, emotions,and will, including the powers of speech.14 For this reason, they affirm, Eve was not startled by the talking snake. She had seen him before, perhapshad even conversed with him. At the same time, it is affirmed, the story primarily refers to Satan and his seduction of Eve who, in turn, temptedAdam.Thus we have a double-faceted interpretation. Those who hold to this two-level view develop both dimensions. This view was common in earliercommentators. The position taken by all the commentators and Old Testament scholars used in this book rejects the mythological-allegorical viewand holds to a more moderate double-faceted view. This is my position, also.Thus, this is an historical account. It all happened just as recounted in Genesis. The suggestion towards rebellion against the lordship of Godcame from outside of man. It came through the one who is here called the serpent, but later called Satan in the Old Testament (1 Chron. 21:1; Job1:612; 2:17; Ps. 109:6 [perhaps]; Zech. 3:13).This is also a pictorial account. The crafty, talking snake is a picture of the one later called the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan(Rev. 12:9). Whether or not he is a literal snake is not important to the story. Most conservative commentators, however, believe it was a literalanimal controlled by Satan.Man made in the image of God had the Word of God to guide him when he faced temptation. Thus he possessed an intuitive, but notexperimental, insight into evil. Furthermore, he had full freedom of the will. Even the strictest Calvinist would accept this fact for pre-Fall man. Hehad every capacity to resist the Devil and obey God.Four Purposes of the Story of the Fall1010 10. As to why the helpless animal should be cursed along with Satan, see Calvin, 165168.1111 11. Leupold, 163.1212 12. Leupold, 162; see Calvin, 165167.1313 13. Wenham does have a thorough overview of the entire serpent episode.1414 14. Adam Clarke thinks it was an ape or similar creature; The Holy Bible: Commentary and Critical Notes (Cincinnati, Ohio:Applegate and Co., 1828), 40f.

1.2.3.4.

The writer of Genesis gives us the story for at least four purposes:To reveal that solicitation towards rebellion against God came from outside of man.To teach that man is responsible before God for his disobedience.To warn us that ongoing spiritual warfare will exist between humanity and Satan.To encourage us with the truth that God will provide full redemption through the seed of the woman.The only way man would have fallen is for external, personal evil, already in existence, to insert doubt about God and His Word throughdeception into the mind of man. Mans situation in Gods Paradise was too perfect for his innocent, but untested, nature to give birth to such unbelief.The process had to begin outside of man.Some point to the self-deception of Lucifer as an argument against this assumption. Somehow evil had to arise within his innocent nature or hewould not have fallen. Others take a different view of this decision towards evil that arose from within Lucifer. In order to test Lucifers free will,God himself would have had to plant the idea of evil in Lucifers mind. This way Lucifer could choose either to accept evil or reject it.This latter view is impossible. God cannot do that which is contrary to His nature. God cannot do evil nor tempt His creatures to do evil and stillbe God. Thus James writes, Let no one say when he is tempted, I am being tempted by God; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himselfdoes not tempt anyone (James 1:13).Evil, therefore, could not have been planted in the heart or mind of Lucifer by God.15 It had to be a capacity possessed by Lucifer from hiscreation, and perhaps also possessed by the angels, though this is less certain since Lucifer evidently attempted to deceive all of Gods angels, beingsuccessful with only a limited number of them. This self-originating nature of supernatural evil, then, did not exist in man, the creature made in theimage and likeness of God as it evidently did in Lucifer.Immediately after speaking of Gods judgment upon the snake, Calvin, writing on Genesis 3:15a, says thatwe must now make a transition from the serpent to the author of this mischief himself. . . . God has not so vented his anger upon the outward instrument as to sparethe devil, with whom lay all the blame. . . .I therefore conclude, that God here chiefly assails Satan under the name of the serpent, and hurls against him the lightning of his judgment. This he does for atwofold reason: first, that men may learn to beware of Satan as of a most deadly enemy; then, that they may contend against him with the assured confidence ofvictory.16

The controversy over the meaning of these profound words in 3:15 has endured for centuries. Yet among most conservative Old Testamentscholars there is now a general unanimity of position with disagreement dealing only with details concerning this spiritual warfare prophecy. The

1515 15. Jeffrey Burton Russell has written an outstanding series of books on Satan and personal evil, starting from antiquitythrough modern times. In his first book, The Devil: Perceptions of Evil from Antiquity to Primitive Christianity, he ascribes evil toGod. (This is a New Age concept, whether or not Russell is aware of it.) Adopting an evolutionary view of the development ofHebrew theism, he affirms that God was both good and bad. When the Jews realized this was unacceptable to their view of God,they split God in two, the good aspect of the God became the Lord. The bad aspect became the Devil. He says the Jewsthus unconsciously moved to absolute dualism (also a New Age concept.)I find this a totally unacceptable view of Hebrew theism.For a refutation of this and similar evolutionary views of the Hebrew faith see the superb books already mentioned by G.Ernest Wright, Professor of Old Testament History and Theology at Harvard University, entitled The Old Testament Against ItsEnvironment and The God Who Acts.1616 16. Calvin, 168169.

areas of the greatest concerns, however, have to do with the meaning of these words to Adam and Eve themselves and to believers down through theages.We begin with noting some of Matthew Henrys thoughtful comments on this passage. Henry deals first with the serpent as the enticer to sin.Here, he says, the serpent is laid under mans reproach and enmity. He is to be forever looked upon as a vile and despicable creature, and a properobject of scorn and contempt.Henry points out that Gods sentence against the serpentis much fortified by that promise of God to his people, Thou shalt tread upon the lion and the adder (Ps. 91:13), and that of Christ to his disciples, They shalltake up serpents (Mark 16:18), witness Paul, who was unhurt by the viper that fastened upon his hand.Observe here, The serpent and the woman had just now been very familiar and friendly in discourse about the forbidden fruit, and a wonderful agreement therewas between them; but here they are irreconcilably set at variance. 17

Henry then switches from the snake to Satan. He says, This sentence may be considered as leveled at the devil, who only made use of theserpent as his vehicle in this appearance, but was himself the principle agent.Then he observes, A perpetual quarrel is here commenced between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of the devil . . . war is proclaimedbetween the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent. 18The issue for man is whom will he serve, God or the anti-God, Satan? No man can serve two masters, Jesus declared (Matt. 6:24). Yet howmany try to do so! If we are not gathering with Him, Jesus said, we are scattering abroad. If we are not for Him, Jesus said, we are againstHim. If we are not serving him, we are serving the Devil. If we are not the children of God, we are the children of Satan.Henry says that A gracious promise is here made of Christ, as the deliverer of fallen man from the power of Satan. He then makes an interestingpoint, seldom observed by commentators:19Though what was said was addressed to the serpent, yet it was said in the hearing of our first parents, who, doubtless, took the hints of grace here given them, andsaw a door of hope opened to them, else the following sentence upon themselves would have overwhelmed them. Here was the dawning of the Gospel day. Nosooner was the wound given than the remedy was provided and revealed.

Genesis 3:15: Three Prophecies of Christ

Henry then mentions three things concerning Christ which he sees coming out of Genesis 3:15:20(1) His incarnation, that He should be the seed of the woman, the seed of that woman; therefore His genealogy (Luke 2) goes so high as to show Him to be the sonof Adam, but God does the woman the honor to call Him rather her seed, because she it was whom the devil had beguiled, and on whom Adam had laid theblame. . . .

This is a significant statement. In biblical and ancient reckoning of lineage it is usually the lineage of the man that is mentioned (cf. 5:1f). In thiscase, God passes by Adam and speaks of the seed of the woman, Eve. It is also startling to note that the rest of the Genesis account stresses more theexuberant faith of Eve than of Adam (4:1f).Eve was the one who was deceived by the serpent. Eve in turn persuaded Adam to follow her in sin. As a result, Eve was also the first of the twoto be judged by God.After the Fall, Eves repentance was perhaps the deepest. She became a woman of faith. She probably believed the promised seed would be bornto her in her lifetime and that he would crush the head of the Evil One, the Great Deceiver. It is her seed, not Adams, which God said would finally

undo what she first caused to be done. Interesting, is it not, that it is the seed of Eve which will take us out of the first Adam and place us in thesecond Adam (1 Cor. 15:4549)!Matthew Henry comments, He [Christ] was likewise to be the seed of a woman only, of a virgin, that He may not be tainted with the corruptionof our nature; He was sent forth, made of woman (Gal. 4:4), that this promise might be fulfilled.21The question as to whether or not the recipients of the book, though men and women of great faith, understood from 3:15 the Virgin Birth of thepromised redeemer would be impossible to answer. What matters is that they had faith, and that faith, like that of Abraham, was counted unto themfor righteousness (Rom. 9:11).Matthew Henry continues:(2) His sufferings and death, pointed at in Satans bruising His heel, that is, His human nature. . . . It was the devil that put it into the heart of Judas to betrayChrist, of Peter to deny him, of the chief priests to prosecute him, of the false witnesses to accuse him, and of Pilate to condemn him, aiming in all this, bydestroying the Savior, to ruin the salvation; but, on the contrary, it was by death that Christ destroyed him that had the power of death (Hebrews 2:14).Christs heel was bruised when his feet were pierced and nailed to the cross, and Christs sufferings are continued in the sufferings of the saints for His name. Thedevil tempts them, casts them into prison, persecutes and slays them, and so bruises the heel of Christ who is afflicted in their afflictions. But, while the heel isbruised on earth, it is well that the head is safe in heaven.

These are challenging words. One has to appreciate Matthew Henrys devotional, yet biblical handling of Genesis 3:15. He continues withexcellent comments on the seed of the woman crushing the head of the serpent.22(3) His victory over Satan thereby. . . . He shall bruise his head, that is, [the seed of the woman] shall destroy all his politics and all his powers, and give a totaloverthrow to his kingdom and interest. Christ baffled Satans temptations, rescued souls out of his hands, cast him out of the bodies of people, dispossessed thestrong man armed, and divided his spoil: by his death, he gave a fatal and incurable blow to the devils kingdom, a wound to the head of this beast, that can neverbe healed. As his gospel gets ground Satan falls (Luke 10:18) and is bound (Rev. 20:2). By his grace, he treads Satan under his peoples feet (Rom. 16:20) and willshortly cast him into the lake of fire (Rev. 20:10). And the devils perpetual overthrow will be the complete and everlasting joy and glory of the chosen remnant.

Generally speaking, Matthew Henrys overview of Genesis 3:15 represents the position of most conservative Old Testament scholars andcommentators. He mentions the meaning of these words to both Adam and Eve and to future generations. He also implies that their full meaningcannot be really understood except in light of the New Testament. He then applies these words to the needs of believers of all ages.We will scrutinize the Messianic import of Genesis 3:15 next.

29The Messianic PromiseGenesis 3:15Martin Luther said about Genesis 3:15: This text embraces and comprehends within itself everything noble and glorious that is to be foundanywhere in the Scriptures.1 The Old Testament saints understood Genesis 3:15 as messianic. While some critical commentators reject the messianicimplications of Genesis 3:15, this is the view of all conservative Bible scholars.2 It is the only view which fits the entire thrust of Scripture.2121 21. Henry, 30.2222 22. Henry, 3031.11 1. H. C. Leupold, Exposition of Genesis (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker, 1987), 163.22 2. See Victor P. Hamilton, The Book of Genesis: Chapters 117 (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1990), 197 for an outline ofnegative views.

Hamiltons discussion is very critical (in a positive sense), but well balanced. He affirms that the translators of the Septuagint seem to have had amessianic understanding of the verse. This is an important admission. Wenham never seems to fail in giving a balanced, reverent interpretation ofGenesis. He says the word translated enmity is really hostility in Hebrew.3Both this context and other passages suggest that long-lasting enmity is meant (cf. Num. 35:2122; Ezek. 25:15; 35:5). The human race, her offspring, and theserpent race, your offspring, will be forever at loggerheads. Those who had been in league against their creator will from now on be fighting against each other, amotif that reappears in the tower of Babel story (11:19). It is not simply a case of God versus the snake in perpetuity but is mankind versus the snake as well (cf.Isa. 11:8).

Wenham raises the textual problem. The translation of this curse is extraordinarily problematic, because the root batter, crush, bruise occursonly here and in two other difficult poetic passages: Ps. 139:11; Job 9:17. There is a similar root which sometimes means crush, e.g., Amos 2:7.4How are we to understand the bruising (NAS) of the serpents head and the bruising (NAS) of the heel of the seed of the woman?The majority view is that the sense is the same in both passages, Wenham says. A minority prefers to see a word play between two differentmeanings, the womans seed crushing the serpent, and the serpent craving the mans head (so Cassuto, Kidner, Procksch; Vg. Tg).Rather than try to resolve the issue, Wenham lets it stand as is. He wisely states that despite the long discussion over the issueetymology makes little difference to the understanding of the passage. Close attention to grammar and context is more important. The imperfect verb . . . impliesrepeated attacks by both sides to injure the other. It declares lifelong mutual hostility between mankind and the serpent race. Of more moment for interpretation isthe question whether one side will eventually prove victorious in the battle, or whether the contest will be never-ending.

Tactically, the serpent has the disadvantage. Since he now crawls on his bellydefinitely a lowering of his sightshe can only strike the mansheel. The man, towering above, can crush the serpents head.Wenham again:5Once admitted that the serpent symbolizes sin, death and the power of evil, it becomes much more likely that the curse envisages a long struggle between good andevil, with mankind eventually triumphing. Such an interpretation fits in well with 4:7 where Cain is warned of sin lurking to catch him, but is promised victory ifhe resists.

With this quote Wenham answers his own question about who wins the long struggle. God wins. We win in Him. He then tells us the oldestJewish interpretation yet discovered sees Genesis 3:15 as messianic, also, and with King Messiah winning the battle.6Certainly the oldest Jewish interpretation found in the third century B.C. Septuagint, the Palestinian targums (Ps-J., Neof., Frg.), and possibly the Onqelos targumtakes the serpent as symbolic of Satan and look for a victory over him in the days of King Messiah. The New Testament also alludes to this passage, understandingit in a broadly messianic sense (Rom. 16:20; Heb. 2:14; Rev. 12), and it may be that the term Son of Man as a title for Jesus and the term woman for Mary(John 2:4; 19:26) also reflect this passage (Gallus; cf. Michl). Certainly, later Christian commentators, beginning with Justin (ca. A.D. 160) and Irenaeus (ca. 180),have often regarded 3:15 as the Protoevangelium, the first messianic prophecy in the Old Testament.

Let me sum up the general messianic interpretation of 3:15 held by most conservative biblical scholars.7 We begin with R. Payne Smith. Hecomments on what he calls the perpetual enmity between the serpent and man and the two seeds:833 3. Gordon J. Wenham, Genesis 115, WBC (Waco, Texas: Word, 1987), 80.44 4. Wenham, 80.55 5. Wenham, 80.66 6. Wenham, 8081.77 7. The other authors I have referred to with great frequency hold to similar views, i.e., John Calvin, R. Payne Smith, GriffithThomas, Adam Clarke, C. F. Keil and F. Delitzsch, John Peter Lange, Francis A. Schaeffer, Gordon Wenham, Victor Hamilton, H. C.Leupold, and Derek Kidner. Leupold says this not only in his commentary, but in his masterful overview of Genesis in ZPEB 2:678695.88 8. R. Payne Smith in Charles John Ellicott, Bible Commentary for English Readers (New York: Cassell and Company, 1954) 1:25.

We have here the sum of the whole matter, and the rest of the Bible does but explain the nature of this struggle, the persons who wage it, and the manner andconsequences of the victory. Here, too, we learn the end and purpose for which the narrative is cast in its present form.

Smith then outlines the relationship of Adam and Eve to God before the Fall, stressing all the benefits God gave to man in the Garden and how hefellowshipped with his beloved pair daily. Smith then says humanity will prevail in this sinister conflict, but not unscathed. Mere human strength willnot afford him his triumph, but by the coming of One who is the Womans Seed; and round this promised Deliverer the rest of Scripture groupsitself.9 If the last phrase of Genesis 3:15 were to be omitted,all the inspired teaching which follows would be an ever-widening river without a fountain-head. But necessarily with the fall came the promise of restoration.Grace is no after-thought, but enters the world side by side with sin. Upon this foundation the rest of Holy Scripture is built, till revelation at last reaches its cornerstone in Christ.

Frances A. Schaeffer calls his chapter on Genesis 3:15 The Two Humanities. Commenting under the subheading, Thy seed and Her Seed, hewrites, It is important to emphasize that the seed here is considered personal, he. The one who is promised here is a person. A person will bruiseSatans head, and in doing so will be wounded.10Schaeffer points out that the male is the one considered to have the seed, so the reference to her seed is peculiar in Semitic languages. Is itpossible that this way of speaking already casts a shadow of the Virgin Birth? Does it suggest that when the Messiah was born, he would be the seedof the woman and that in his conception there would be no male seed?11 This is frequently suggested by evangelical scholars. It is not universallyheld to be true, however. Either way, Messiah was virgin born.Schaeffer then compares Genesis 3:15 with Hebrews 2:14. Noting that Jesus fulfilled the promise in Genesis 3:15, for it is the Messiah who is tobe bruised, and yet, in the bruising, destroy the power of death and the devil. By this death, he would deliver them who through fear of death wereall their lifetime subject to bondage (v. 15).12 This substitutionary note to the death of the Messiah portends the overcoming of the results of theFall. Schaeffer continues to discuss this substitutionary aspect by tying Isaiah 53:10 to Genesis 3:15. Note, Schaeffer says:He shall see his seed. It is in this sense, therefore, that God has given Jesus children. Romans 16:20 also ties in with Genesis 3:15. Speaking to the Christians inRome, Paul writes, And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The reference is to the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ when Godhimself shall bruise Satan under the feet of the Christians. 13

Schaeffers discussion has been to prove that Christ is the seed of the woman in Genesis 3:15. As a result of his redemptive work, Christ has aseed, and that seed shall contend with the seed of Satan. Christ is to be the second Adam and the second founder of the race.14Taking all we have seen thus far and adding a few ideas we can summarize the teachings of Genesis 3:15 as follows:First, there will be mutual hostility between Satan and the woman (v. 15a).15Second, God established this enmity, not the serpent nor the woman: I will put enmity (v. 15a).Third, the woman here must stand for the entire human race, not just the female gender. Genesis 3:20 can be used for confirmation. The woman iscalled Eve, living or life, because she was the mother of all the living. As Adam was the representative man, Eve is the representative woman.

This is in keeping with the Hebrew view of humanity. All future generations are said to be in the loins of their fathers (Heb. 7:910). How aboutin the womb of their mothers, also?A case can be made from Genesis 3:15 and from history for Satans unique hatred of women, however. Women contain within themselves the keyto the very existence of the race. Every human being born since the Fall, including the man Christ Jesus, was born from the womb of a woman.Furthermore, whether or not Satan understood it, the one who was to crush his head would be born of a woman. The Incarnation would comethrough the Virgin Birth (Luke 1:2638; Gal. 4:4; Rev. 12:16, 1317). Thus Satans historic and continuing attempts to corrupt and destroywomankind take on greater significance than we normally give.Fourth, this mutual hatred will be carried forward by the two twofold seeds (v. 15b).I believe the diagram on page 211 is harmonious with later biblical teachings and confirmed by encounters with Satan and his evil spirits in thecourse of Christian history, life, and redemptive ministry.He (the seed of the woman) will bruise the head of the serpent (Satan). When the apostle Paul takes this concept and applies it to the Christian lifein Romans 16:20, he selects a stronger verb. He uses suntrib, which, according to William Vine, means to shatter . . . break in pieces by crushing.The same verb is used for bruising of a reed, Matthew 12:20; . . . the breaking of fetters in pieces, Mark 5:4; the breaking of an alabaster cruse,Mark 14:3; an earthen vessel, Revelation 2:27 . . . of the eventual crushing of Satan, Romans 16:20.16A Bifocal FocusThe words focus primarily on the crushing of the serpents head which has already occurred historically in the Christ event, i.e., the redemptiveactivity of the Lord Jesus Christ (Matt. 12:2229; Acts 10:38; Col. 2:1315; Heb. 2:1415; 1 John 3:8b).

Thus, while our foe is a powerful, awesome supernatural foe, he is already a defeated one. If there exists a single key to victory in warfare withevil supernaturalism, it is that God through the Lord Jesus Christ, His Son, has already totally defeated Satan and his seed in our behalf (John 12:3132; 16:11 with Luke 10:18), and in behalf of all humanity (2 Cor. 5:1821; John 3:16).1616 16. William E. Vine, An Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words (London, Oliphants, 1953) 1:147.

How demons fear and resist this truth! They will fight it with all of their being when spoken in faith and authority by the child of God (Eph. 3:10with Rev. 12:11).A secondary focus of the words deals with the Christian or the Church event. By this I refer to the ongoing crushing of the head of the serpentby the people of God. Is this not implied in Romans 16:20, Matthew 16:1820, and Matthew 18:1820? While the context (in Matt. 18:1820)describes interpersonal conflicts among believers, the principles have this wider application.We crush Satans head in our own life as we resist him and submit to God (James 4:7). We crush his head in the lives of others throughintercession and as we bring Christs life, love, and healing power into their bruised lives.In the context of warfare with the spirit world, this means our powerful foe is first defeated by our Lord and then by us, His sons and servants.The greatest compliment demons ever paid to meand I do not seek compliments from themhas occurred when I bring them under control andthey do not want to obey me, but finally have to.Why do you have to obey me? I occasionally ask.Because you are the Lords servant, they reply.And such we are! But we are also His sons.If there exists a second key to victory in our warfare with evil supernaturalism, it is this: Jesus has committed to us His authority over Satan andhis seed (Luke 10:19; Acts 16:18; 1 John 5:1819; Rom. 16:20).How demons hate and fear this truth spoken in faith by the mouth of Gods seed (Eph. 3:10 with Rev. 12:11). They will fight it fiercely until madeto submit. Then they will fearfully admit it to be true.This secondary crushing of evil supernaturalism also involves the agony of direct participation in spiritual warfare and Warfare Praying, deepintercession in the context of spiritual warfare (Eph. 6:1020; 1 Peter 5:811; Rev. 23 and 12:713:7). There is no effective spiritual warfare withoutpain. Jesus Himself said, In the world you have tribulation. . . . But, He continued to say, I have overcome the world (John 16:33b). He also said,Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom (Luke 12:32).In the process of being crushed, Satan will painfully but not mortally wound the heel of the seed of the woman (v. 15d). This too has a primaryand secondary focus. The primary focus is on the satanic source of the afflictions and sufferings of the Lord Jesus Christ while he lived on earth. Thisbegan with the wilderness temptation and continued until his death on the Cross.It is interesting to see the satanic source of the betrayal, agony, and death of the singular seed of the woman, the Lord Jesus (John 13:2 and 27;Luke 22:4753). In this event, the stupidity of Satan is revealed. He shot himself in the foot, so to speak. By taking Jesus to the Cross, Satan andhis entire kingdom of principalities and powers were totally defeated (Col. 2:1415; Heb. 2:1415). Is this the deeper meaning of 1 Corinthians 2:68? I believe it is.The secondary focus of these words has to do with the most agonizing aspect of our life and redemptive ministry, the demonic source of theafflictions and sufferings we face in our personal life and ministry (2 Cor. 2:11; 10:35; 11:3; 12:7; Luke 22:3132; Eph. 6:1014a; 1 Thess. 2:18;3:5; 1 Pet. 5:611).This is clearly spelled out in Revelation 23. All seven messages to the seven churches are formed within the context of spiritual warfare. First wehave the conflict promise: To him who overcomes (2:7; 2:11; 2:17; 2:26; 3:5; 3:12; 3:21). This is followed by even more graphic descriptions ofsufferings at the hands of the spirit world (2:910; 2:1316; 2:2025; 3:910; 12:17; 13:7). Pauls words in 1 Thessalonians 2:18 and 3:5 also take onnew meaning. Furthermore, this gives new significance to verses like Philippians 1:29, Colossians 1:24, and 2 Timothy 1:712 and 4:18.There is no redemptive ministry apart from warfare sufferings. The dual wounding of the seed of the woman by evil supernaturalism is part of themystery of Gods plan. This was true of the wounding of the Son of God (John 19:1011; Isa. 53:46 and 10a; Acts 2:2223 and 36), and continues tobe true of the wounding of the sons of God (Acts 4:2731; 2 Thess. 3:3; 1 John 5:18; Luke 10:19 with Luke 22:3132; Job 12).

As we well know, however, in their crushing by Jesus as the Seed of the woman, Satan and his demonic hosts were not annihilated. They stillexercise authority over those who do not know Christ (2 Cor. 4:34; Eph. 2:13; 1 John 3:10; 5:19). They are also allowed under the sovereign willand control of God to war against the children of God (1 Cor. 7:5; 2 Cor. 2:11; 11:3; Eph. 6:1018; 1 Thess. 2:18; 3:5; James 4:78; 1 Peter 5:811; 1John 2:1214; Rev. 1213).We face afflictions and sufferings as Gods servants as we live for our Lord in the enemys territory, this evil world (Gal. 1:4). It is our privilegeto say with the apostle Paul:Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake [for our fellow believers who look to us as a model of steadfastness in the midst of suffering], andin my flesh I do my share on behalf of His body (which is the church) in filling up that which is lacking in Christs afflictions (Col. 1:24).The word translated afflictions here is never used of the Lords atoning sufferings but of the general afflictions He faced on earth as the God-man.These afflictions come from two personal sources, evil men and evil supernaturalism. In a mysterious sense, there seems to be a predeterminedquantity of sufferings necessary to bring the church, Christs body, to its fullness in Christ.Jesus began filling that sufferings quota. We continue with similar quota sufferings. The sufferings come from men. They also come from bearinga fallen body in a fallen world. Above all, however, they come from the serpent and his seed, the demons.The rest of Scripture is the unfolding of that suffering, bruised-heel lifestyle of the people of God. Until the Lord returns in his glory and Satanand his angels are cast into the lake of fire (Matt. 25:41; Rev. 20:1415), our heel will be continually bruised by the serpent and his seed. We will alsocontinue to crush the serpents head, however. In that process we will always be victorious, even in defeats and if necessary, in death (Rom. 8:3539).In the end, the Lord Himself will finish crushing the serpents head (Rev. 19:20; 20:10). Amen!

30The Beginning of Warfare Between the Two SeedsGenesis 4:18In Genesis 4 we discover the first in a series of encounters between the two opposing seeds. As God calls to Himself a people for His name, He canonly call them out of the fallen family of Adam, all of whom are in bondage to the god of this world, Satan. Some will respond to Gods will. Theywill become the seed of the woman. Others will reject Gods call. They will become the seed of the Serpent. This will divide the human race into twowarring families, or seeds, the children of God and the children of the Devil.In rage and hatred both against God and the elect of God, Satan will war against the family of God. Gods children will become the object of thehatred of the no-family of God, those still fallen in Adam who remain as the seed of the serpent.Cain and AbelMost of the time the invisible supernatural personalities who are the demonic seed of Satan will not be seen. What are seen are the human agentsthrough whom they operate (Eph. 6:12). In Genesis 4 Cain is one of those sons of disobedience, the beginning of the evil line of the seed of Satan.Satan will make war with the first saints through his seed, in this case Cain. That is why we begin with him.I express the mutual hostility in the above manner because in such stories the hostility is more on the part of the seed of the serpent than viceversa. It is usually occasioned by a negative reaction on the part of the human seed of Satan to the righteous lifestyle of the human seed of thewoman. The godly life of Gods people provokes jealousy, anger, and resistance on the part of evil people. It can become open hatred. The seed of therighteous are often made to suffer and die at the hands of the unrighteous seed. That is exactly what happens in the story before us.Cain and Abel can be seen as the first representatives of the two warring seeds spoken of by God in Genesis 3:15: the seed of the serpent, Cain,and the seed of the woman, Abel.

After the Fall, the first parents proved to be a godly couple. Two of their three sons whose names are given in Genesis 45 evidently walked inthe faith of their parents. Eve joyfully cries out after the birth of her firstborn, Cain, gotten one, I have gotten a man child with Yahweh.1Leupolds comment on 4:1 is worth noting:2In this phrase lie both thankfulness and praise; thankfulness at deliverance from pain and danger [as this was the first child born of a woman, without doubt thecurse of 3:16 is in view], praise that Jehovah is manifesting His grace and faithfulness in giving a son. So the use of the name Yahweh should be observed.Apparently, then, since the name stresses His gracious faithfulness, Eve praises God that He who promised victory to the seed of the woman actually lets the (seedof the woman) be born. Nothing indicates whether Eve did or did not anticipate that this very seed, Cain, should personally crush the serpents head. But in anycase, she had a token of Yahwehs fidelity.

Adam and Eve were present when the curse and promise of 3:15 were spoken by God to the serpent. What we see in 4:1 is evidence that Evenever forgot those words. Her first and third sons were probably named in light of 3:15.She was wrong about Cain, however. How deep must have been her disappointment when Cain turned out to be more the seed of Satan (1 John3:12) than the promised seed of the woman! What tragedy she experienced as the first mother! She sets the pattern for godly women through the ageswho have seen a special son turn away from God. How great is their suffering!Verse 2a refers to the birth of the younger brother, Abel. No explanation is given as to why he was called Abel (breath) as there was for Cain.3As Cain was the firstborn, much importance is attributed to his birth.Wenham points out some of the privileges of the firstborn in biblical cultures (Gen. 25:32; 27:140; Deut. 21:1517). He observes, however, thatin the Old Testament God uniquely seems to call the second born, usually even before their birth. Examples are Isaac in place of Ishmael; Jacob inplace of Esau; Ephraim not Manasseh; David, the youngest of Jesses sons, as over against the older sons. He feels that there are hints here (vv. 12a)that Abel is the elect younger brother.4Scene 1: Verses 2b5Verse 2b5 represents the first scene, Wenham says. It is all narrative. Cain and Abel are the main actors. Yahweh does not speak. Abelsoccupation is mentioned first, then Cains. But Cains offering is mentioned before Abels.Much has been made of Abels offering being accepted and Cains rejected because Cain brought the fruit of the ground, while Abel brought ananimal (blood) sacrifice. This does not seem to be the point of the story, however. Grain offerings or other offerings of the fruit of the ground werenot only later revealed to be acceptable but commanded by the law of God.5Why was Cains offering not accepted, while Abels was?6 The two most common explanations are, one: the different motives of the two brothers,motives known only to God (Heb. 11:4); two, the different attitudes toward worship by the two sons. Wenham calls this latter view the commonestview among commentators, ancient and modern.7A look at the description of the offerings seems to support this view. Abel . . . brought of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat portions(4:4). Cain brought an offering to the LORD of the fruit of the ground (v. 3). There is no mention that it was the first fruit of the ground as the lawlater required, but only that it was the fruit of the ground.11 1. H. C. Leupold, Exposition of Genesis (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker, 1987), 189.22 2. Leupold, 189190, notation mine.33 3. For the significance of Abels name see Gordon J. Wenham, Genesis 115, WBC (Waco, Texas: Word, 1987), 102103.44 4. Wenham, 104.55 5. Victor P. Hamilton, The Book of Genesis: Chapters 117 (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1990); 222223 Wenham, 104.66 6. Wenham outlines the five major explanations given by most commentators, 104; Hamilton also gives various opinions, 223224.77 7. Wenham, 104.

The fact they brought sacrifices at all reveals that Adam and Eve understood how to worship God since the Fall. They understood the need forsacrificial offerings and had correctly taught their children to do so.Abel did as he was taught, but Cain did as he thought. As a result Moses says, . . . the LORD had regard for Abel and for his offering, but for Cainand for his offering, He had no regard (vv. 4b5a). God first responds to the person of each son before He does to their offerings. Evidently thedifferent inner attitudes of obedience, faith, and true love for God made the difference.8Both sons were raised in the same home by the same godly parents (it is interesting that Eves faith is more prominent than Adams in chapter 4)under identical circumstances. Both were taught to worship. Both were taught to present offerings to the Lord. The heart of one, Abel, was inclinedtoward God, on pleasing him, by faith. The heart of the other, Cain, was inclined towards himself, on doing as he pleased.Cains reaction in verse 5b to Gods rejection of his offering is described in strong words. First, Cain was very angry. Next his countenancefell. Then he became crest fallen and depressed.9We are not told how the brothers knew Gods reaction to their offerings, but God did let them know. Cain is not confused about why he was notaccepted. Instead he is furious, both at God and his brother. He falls into a deep despondency triggered by self-pity and deep anger. Wenham saysthat, in Scripture, being very angry is often a prelude to homicidal acts (cf. 34:7; 1 Sam. 18:8; Neh. 4:1; cf. Num. 16:15; 2 Sam. 3:8).10 It certainlywas so with Cain. Calvin writes:11Moreover, in the person of Cain is portrayed to us the likeness of a wicked man, who yet desires to be esteemed just . . . Such persons truly, by external words,strenuously labor to deserve well at the hands of God; and, retaining a heart wrapped in deceit, they present to Him nothing but a mask; so that, in their laboriousand anxious religious worship, there is nothing sincere, nothing but mere pretense. When they afterwards see that they gain no advantage, they betray the venom oftheir minds; for they not only complain against God, but break forth in manifest fury, so that, if they were able, they would gladly tear Him down from Hisheavenly throne. Such is the innate pride of hypocrites.

Scene 2: Verses 67Scene two begins with Gods response to Cains anger and depression (4:67). Gods recorded response to Cain is very helpful in understandingwhat was occurring in Cains life from Gods all-knowing perspective. God is shown as being willing to forgive Cain and to accept him into Hisfamily. At the same time, the record of Gods response in verse 7 is one of the hardest verses in Genesis to translate and interpret.12God begins with two direct questions: Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? There is great compassion on Gods part inasking these questions. He, of course, knew the answers to both questions. His purpose seems to be to give Cain the opportunity to reflect on the realreasons for his anger and sadness.This view is further strengthened by Gods third question in verse 7. If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up? Others translate it:Is there not forgiveness if you do well?13While objections can be raised about forgiveness being earned through well-doing, this too is beside the point. The point is, Cain has done evil.He knows it and God knows it. God wants to forgive him, to accept him, but he must first recognize and confess his sin. If he does, God invites himto Himself. God has not arbitrarily accepted Abel as over against Cain, as some commentators affirm. God has a heart big enough for both of them.Cain must recognize his wrong and come to God with a sincerely repentant heart and God will forgive and accept him. I believe Cains repentancemotivates all three of Gods questions, but especially this last one.88 8. See John Calvin, Genesis (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker, 1989), 194196.99 9. Hamilton, 224225.1010 10. Wenham, 104.1111 11. Calvin, 197.1212 12. Hamilton tells why, 225228, as does Wenham, 104106.1313 13. Wenham, 105, and most other major commentators.

God follows His three questions with a strong warning and an exhortation or promise. All evidence Gods grace toward Cain. Cain, it is not yettoo late, God is saying. You too will be accepted by me just as I have accepted your brother, Abel.Cains Sin and Evil SupernaturalismNext is the strong warning. In it we discover some of the spiritual warfare dimensions of Cains sin problem. And if you do not do well, sin iscrouching at the door; and its desire is for you.This is a powerful word. It is also the first appearance of the word sin in the Bible and lends insight about the nature of sin itself. Sin ispersonified, given independent life as if it were an animal or even a serpent lurking in the doorway of Cains house, ready to destroy him. Keil andDelitzsch say, The feminine (for sin) is construed as a masculine, because with evident allusion to the serpent, sin is personified as a wild beast,lurking at the door of the human heart, and eagerly desiring to devour his soul (1 Peter 5:8).14Hamilton says that the Hebrew word for sin here is connected with the Akkadian word demon, rabisum.15

In Mesopotamian demonology the rabisum (demon) could be either a benevolent being that lurks at the entrance of a building to protect the occupants, or just theopposite, a malevolent being that lurks at the entrance of a building to threaten the occupants.

Wenham refers to an article by Ramaroson who translates the warning in verse 7, If you do not do well, the croucher (demon) is at the door. 16I believe this position is accurate. It is certainly the New Testament view. The apostle John refers to Cains sin problem as being satanic (1 John3:12). Was Cain demonized?Wenham then adds, Here then sin is personified as a demon crouching like a wild beast on Cains doorstop.17 In this we discover the spiritualwarfare dimension of Cains sin problem. Of course Cains sin came from within him, the problem of the flesh. It did not come from outside him,from the world, however. The world to Cain was not yet evil. The evil world was really only born with his sin, not that of Adam and Eve. He is thefirst worldly man revealed in Scripture.The dominant power of evil revealed in this story is evil supernaturalism. Personified sin was present in Cains life (v. 7). John says that, asbelievers are of God (1 John 5:19), so Cain was of the evil one (1 John 3:12). He belonged to Satan as we believers belong to God. As thebeliever shares the life of the God who indwells him, Cain shared the life of Satan who indwelt him. This was probably not yet true at the stage of sinin his life when God first spoke to him (vv. 67), but it became true immediately afterwards. God warned Cain that the demon of sin was outsidewaiting to possess him. It had its desire set upon him. Hamilton translates these words, Its urge is toward you.18 In his refusal to respond toGods warnings, he probably allowed that demon into his life, becoming demonized.Gods warning here is a word of grace towards Cain. God knew where Cain was heading and stepped in to warn him. He was saying, Stop, Cain!Turn back. You are heading for disaster. God then continues his attempt to stop Cain. He says but you must master it, i.e., the personal demon ofsin crouching at his door.Keil and Delitzsch share a beautiful quotation from another commentator called Herder:19God talks to Cain as a willful child, and draws out of him what is sleeping in his heart, and lurking like a wild beast before his door. And what He did to Cain Hedoes to everyone who will but observe his own heart, and listen to the voice of God.

What was Cains immediate response? Stony silence. Leupold observes, There is something ominous about Cains silences. He is not reported tohave thanked (God) for the warning, or to have repented of his jealousy, or to have mended his ways. A stubborn silence seems to have been all hehad to offer.20Anticipating verse 8, he says,Cains sin in reference to his brother was primarily jealousy culminating in hatred, a sin that seems comparatively weak and insignificant but which carriespossibilities of great development within itself. 21

Anger, bitterness, and lack of forgiveness are some of the most dangerous sin handles in a human life. Thus Pauls impassioned warnings (Heb.12:15; Eph. 4:2627; 5:296:2; Col. 3:817). Cain is experiencing this in the story before us.Leupold comments:22Now the account proceeds in a drastic manner to show what possibilities for development lay in the sin which had by this time fastened itself strongly upon man.Possibilities for evil that no man would have suspected lay hidden in sin. All of a sudden it breaks forth and displays to the full its vicious nature and terrible curse.

Scene 3: Verse 8Scene three is found in verse 8, revealing Cains negative response to Gods questions, His promise, and His strong warning found in verses 67.Wenham calls it the central theme, with Cain and Abel the only actors. The awfulness of the deed is accentuated by the stark brevity of thedescription and the twice-repeated his brother. 23Cain murders his believing, godly brother, Abel.24Hamilton writes thatthe reason Abel is murdered is because of an unchecked envy and jealousy on Cains part. Rather than accept Gods decision, he rejects the one God has accepted.But this reaction only exacerbates Cains dilemma. He has eliminated Abel, but what will he do with God? 25

Leupold writes that

the first murder was fratricide. Sin could hardly have displayed more drastically the potentialities that lie in it. In the second generation it has already grown to theproportions of murder. Clearly, the term seed of the woman (3:15) must suffer modification. Here already is a clear instance how the seed of the woman hadalready (in part) become the seed of the serpent (Keil). 26

curses resemble the similar treatment of Adam (cf. 4:9 and 3:9; 4:10 and 3:13; 4:11 and 3:14, 17; 4:12 and 3:1719). Many of the key words ofchapter 3 appear here too: knew, guard, cursed, land, drive. 27We bring our commentary on Genesis 4 to an end with the last part of verse 8, Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him. Keil andDelitzsch write,Thus the sin of Adam had grown into fratricide in his son. . . . Cain was the first man who let sin reign in him; he was of the wicked one (1 John 3:12). In him theseed of the woman had already become the seed of the serpent; and in his deed the real nature of the wicked one, as a murder from the beginning, had comeopenly to light: so that already there had sprung up that contrast of two distinct seeds within the human race, which runs through the entire history of humanity. 28

With this story the ongoing spiritual warfare between the two seeds, the two kingdoms, has begun. Spiritual warfare has broken out in full force.The rest of the Bible only traces what we have seen here and what Keil and Delitzsch have called two distinct seeds within the human race, whichruns through the entire history of humanity.The seed of the serpent bruises the heel of the seed of the woman. Unrighteous Cain murders his righteous brother Abel (1 John 3:12). The worldhas never been at peace since.

31The Watchers of Genesis 6 and the Call of NoahAs soon as we begin to study Genesis 6:18, a long list of questions confronts us:Who are the sons of God (vv. 2a,4b)?Who are the beautiful daughters of men (v. 2)?What was the nature of the relationship of the sons of God with the attractive daughters of men (vv. 2,4)?Why does the Holy Spirit resist their relationship (v. 3a)?What does it mean that man is flesh (v. 3)?What is the meaning of mans days as 120 years (v. 3b)?Who were the Nephilim . . . on earth in those days (v. 4a)?What do the Nephilim have to do with the sons of God, the daughters of men, and the children born to them (v. 4b)?Who were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown (v. 4b)?What was their relationship with the Nephilim (v. 4a)?What was their relationship with the sons of God (v. 4b)?What was their relationship with the daughters of men (v. 4c)?How is all of this related to the total depravity of the human race described in verse 5?How do we understand Gods becoming sorry that He had made man on earth, and He was grieved in His heart (v. 6)?What did man do to become so morally and spiritually gross, perverse, and hopeless that God chooses to utterly destroy all men except Noah andhis family?Let me first answer two questions that have nothing to do with spiritual warfare. First, the 120 years probably refer to the time between the call ofNoah and the destruction of the world by the Flood, not the lifespan of future generations. The fact is, Noah himself lived 950 years (Gen. 9:29). Hissons and grandsons continued to live for hundreds of yearsnot just 120 years (Gen. 11:10f).God Repents?2727 27. Wenham, 106.2828 28. Keil and Delitzsch, 113.

Second, Gods repentance and sorrow for having made man is a problem to many. What does Genesis 6:6 mean when it describes God as havingrepented? Walter Kaiser asks. He says this is especially difficult in light of Numbers 23:19, which states, God is not a man that He should lie, nora son of man, that He should repent.1Kaiser answers by pointing out that in other passages both affirmations are made about God. God repented and God never repents (1 Sam.15:11,29). Obviously two different things are in view. The answer seems to be at least threefold.1. Gods character is not changeable as is mans. He is always consistent with Himself. Thus, He never repents.2. God is not a machine. He is a true person possessing perfect mind, emotions, and will. Therefore, He can become sad. He is always saddened byevil. Thus, He does repent.This is but another in a long series of anthropomorphisms in Scripture. God describes Himself or is described in human terms. We find this allthrough Genesis and the rest of the Bible.3. While God is omniscient, He created moral, responsible beings who possess the power of choice. Therefore, in Scripture God is often described asresponding in human-like actions to the choices His creatures make. This is what is occurring in the story before us.Spiritual Warfare QuestionsMost of the remaining questions relate to spiritual warfare. We will begin with what is probably the most controversial question: Who are thesons of God spoken of in verse 2 who enter into evidently unrestrained sexual relationships with the daughters of men?Wenham says that6:18 falls into two paragraphsvv. 14, divine/human intermarriage [divine in the sense of supernatural or nonhuman, not as being God], and vv. 58,intimation of total destructionwhich conclude the whole section 5:16:8, the family history of Adam. Though 6:18 appears to have little connection with thepreceding genealogy, it is in fact closely integrated with it. 2

We will say little about the connection between Genesis 6:18 and Genesis 5:132.3 All we need to know is that Genesis 6:18 is not an isolatedstory. It records the total degradation and apostasy of the family of Adam, leading to Gods judgment of man in the Flood. What a contrast with 4:2526!The writer introduces 6:2 after making two important statements in 6:1: When men began to multiply on the face of the land, and daughterswere born to them. What is he trying to tell us?First, the statement when men began to multiply on the face of land points back to Gods original command that man multiply and fill theearth (Gen. 1:28), and to mans relationship with the land (Gen. 24). In other words, there has been a vast population explosion. Men cover theface of the land. This is exactly what God wanted to occur (1:28).Second, and daughters were born to them. Daughters or women have only been mentioned in passing (4:1726; 5:24,7f). The writer has beentracing the male descendants of the sons of Adam, not their daughters. Here the women are finally given their place.Verse 2 hints that something has gone astray, however. Three things are specified. One, the sons of God see the beauty of the daughters of men.In itself there is nothing wrong with that. Two, they take wives for themselves. At first this seems acceptable. Three, they take whomever theychoose. Here is the hint something is wrong.They see! They choose! They take! That sounds like male exploitation of women. It also sounds like polygamy. It could imply rape or forcedconcubinage, with women being forcibly taken into harems. What is happening here?WHO ARE THE SONS OF GOD?11 1. Walter Kaiser, Toward Old Testament Ethics (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 1983), 249.22 2. Gordon J. Wenham, Genesis 115, WBC (Waco, Texas: Word, 1987), 136.33 3. See Wenham for details.

The verse does not tell us. Thus it becomes one of the most problematic in Genesis. Difficulties begin with the first questions, Who are the sonsof God? Who are the daughters of men? What did the sons of God do to and with the daughters of men?With the first question, Who are the sons of God? we must begin. This is the most difficult question of all. G. H. Livingston asks, To whomdoes this title referto pagan deities; to pagan rulers; to angels or to descendants of the lineage of Seth?4Pagan Deities?Most commentators affirm that there are three main lines of interpretation offered by modern exegetes. Livingston, however, affirms a fourth, theview that the sons of God refer to pagan deities. We will look briefly at that view before examining the three more popular ones.Livingston says that among pagans there are mythological stories which go back to the Hurrians (ca. 1500 B.C.) which tell of nature deities whoengage in illicit relations among themselves, and in some instances with humans. Is this passage a remnant of such a story?5 He next mentions thatwhile most Old Testament scholars affirm that erotic mythology is not a normal feature of the Old Testament, others claim that here we have anexception. The Old Testament writer altered an ancient myth and, with embarrassment, set it forth as a basis for Gods judgment in the form of aflood.6Livingston himself rejects this view, as do most commentators.The three common views are: One, the sons of God are rulers, an early royal aristocracy; two, the sons of God are angels; and three, they are thegodly line of Seth. The daughters of mankind are then seen as women from the ungodly line of Cain.7Human Rulers?We will look briefly at the first view. This view affirms that the sons of God were members of the leadership (princes and kings) among men.Their royal power soon corrupted them. They took into their harems sexually attractive women from all social classes.8 Their sin would be polygamy,at best. While manyperhaps mostof the women consented because of the luxurious life they were brought into, others would have beencompelled by their families to respond to their rulers demands. Often the girls were probably too young to know the full implications of such alifestyle. For some women this probably meant rape, forced concubinage, or kidnapping for sexual exploitation. In time they became as corrupt astheir exploiters (v. 5).Whatever be the case, like boastful Lamech before them, (4:19,2324) and sexually addicted King Solomon after them (1 Kings 11:113), thesekings sexually abused the women. While this is the position of Orthodox Judaism, Keil and Delitzsch say it can be dismissed at once as notwarranted by the usages of the language and as altogether unscriptural.9Fallen Angels?The main views held among the majority of Jewish commentators and Christian scholars until today, are the second and third views alreadymentioned. Lets examine each separately. First there is the view which affirms that the sons of God are fallen angels (watcher angels, as we willsoon see) and the daughters of men are human women. This position does not mean that the women were raped or abducted by the fallen angels, saythe commentators. Indeed, the opposite seems to be true. The women gave themselves to the angelic beings to be their sexual partners, probably with44 4. G. H. Livingston in Merrill C. Tenney, ed., ZPEB (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 1977) 5:493494.55 5. Livingston, 493.66 6. Livingston, 493494.77 7. See Victor P. Hamilton, The Book of Genesis: Chapters 117 (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1990), 262265; Wenham, 139141; John Calvin, Genesis (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker, 1989), 237239; C. F. Keil and F. Delitzsch, Exposition of Genesis (GrandRapids, Mich.: Baker, 1987), 127134.88 8. Hamilton, 263264.99 9. Keil and Delitzsch, 128. For a thorough and fair presentation of this view, see Wenham, 139140.

the full consent of their families. This makes the picture of human depravity so terrible that it justifies Gods decision to destroy the human race (vv.7,13).Wenham accepts this position while admitting, Given the variety of ways in which the sons of God has been understood, it is hard to knowwhich sense is correctangelic, royal, or traditional Sethite.10The Tradition of Watcher AngelsC. Fred Dickasonwho does not hold to this viewsays that the names given to angels in Scripture reflect either their nature or their functionwithin the angelic kingdom. One name which reveals the ministry function of one group of angels is that of watchers. Dickason says the namedenotes angels as supervisors and agents under God employed by Him in control of world government. They may be involved in decision makingand execution of decrees that affect world affairs11 (Ps. 89:57; Dan. 4:13,17,23; 7:916, I Kings 22:1923; Ezek. 1:4).It is possible that this is the class of angels described here as the sons of God who entered into illicit sexual union with women. It is alsopossible they are the territorial spirits which are the subject of much research and power encounter evangelistic efforts today12 (Dan. 10:13,20; Rev.23; 17).The name angelic watcher is found in Daniel 4:13,17,23 in Scripture. It was very common in Jewish apocalyptic and some non-canonicalChristian literature. In Daniel 4 each is described as an angelic watcher, a holy one. Together with God they form a heavenly council under God,involved in major decisions affecting the earth (v. 17). When they are described as being in motion, they are always seen as descending fromheaven to earth (vv. 13,23). Thus they partly control the affairs of men on earth.13Russell describes the activity of Watcher angels as Gods divine council. Using ancient Middle Eastern tradition, not the Bible, he writes of anangelic rebellion under Semyaza who evidently was the leader of the Watchers. Russell believes Semyaza later becomes Satan or the Devil.A large number of the Watchers in turn rebelled against the lordship of God under SemyazaSatan, Russell affirms. Their primary act indeclaring their independence of Yahweh was to descend to earth, probably in human form, to lust after mortal women.They take as sexual partners all the women they want. Their children become demigods, evil creatures, with great strength and supernaturalabilities. This leads to the degradation of the human race. The Watchers, in turn, are punished by God, and the human race comes under Godsjudgment in the Flood, Russell says.14 Thus Russell does an excellent overview of the fall of Satan and his angels. His views lend support for theview that angelic-sexual exploitation of women is indicated in Genesis 6.

As already mentioned, Wenham also holds to the angelic view of Genesis 6:14.15 He says that modern scholars who accept this view advancevarious reasons for supporting it.First, elsewhere in the Old Testament (Ps. 29:1; Job 1:6) sons of God refers to heavenly, godlike angelic creatures. Second, in 6:14 the contrast is between thesons of gods on the one hand and the daughters of man on the other, not between one group of the sons of men versus another group of the daughters of men.The alternative interpretations presuppose that what Genesis 6 really meant was that the sons of some men married the daughters of other men. The phrasesons of God, is, to say the least, an obscure way of expressing such an idea.

It is made the more implausible by 6:1 where man refers to all humanity. Also, it is natural to assume that in verse 2 daughters of man has anequally broad reference, not a specific section of the human race. Finally, he points out that in Ugaritic literature sons of God refers to membersof the divine pantheon, and it is likely that Genesis is using the phrase in a similar sense.16Wenham then makes an important observation about the nature of the sexual sins involved.17One must look behind the specific terms used to discover the reason for the condemnation in this case. . . . Here the fault of the daughters of man lies presumablyin their consenting to intercourse with the sons of the gods. . . . The girls fathers would also have been implicated, since, if there was no rape or seduction, theirapproval to these matches would have been required. The obvious avoidance of any terms suggesting lack of consent makes the girls and their parents culpable, themore so when the previous chapter has demonstrated that mankind was breeding very successfully on its own.

Wenham further supports the angelic view by saying, This story may also be . . . a polemic against the fertility cults which often included sacredmarriages between the gods and men. He points out the Old Testament prohibition against mixed crops, mixed clothing, and crossbreeding ofspecies and intermarriage with non-Israelites. Therefore unions between sons of the gods and human women would be especially odious.18The Line of Seth?The third position is that the sons of God refer to the godly line of Seth. The daughters of men would then refer to the apostate line of Cain.The sin would be the breakdown of the godly line by intercourse with the godless daughters of Cain.Can the Question Be Answered?Wenham, an English scholar, says this view, for a long time the preferred Christian exegesis, again because it avoided the suggestion of carnalintercourse with angels, has few advocates today.19 Evidently this traditional view is not very popular among evangelical scholars in Great Britain,but it is in the U.S.A. In fact, it is probably still the preferred Christian exegesis in the United States and Canada, as well as other parts of the worldwhere American missionaries have labored.20If these writers do not hold strongly to the Sethite view, they take a neutral position, presenting both the angelic and the Sethite views, but notstating a preference between the two.21 I find myself among their number. I am not certain which is the better view. I like Kidners position that the1515 15. Wenham says that the angel interpretation is at once the oldest view and that of most modern commentators. It isassumed in the earliest Jewish exegesis (e.g., the books of 1 Enoch 6:2ff; Jubilees 5:1), LXX, Philo (De Gigant 2:358), Josephus(Ant. 1:31) and the Dead Sea Scrolls (1QapGen 2:1; CD 2:1719). The New Testament (2 Peter 2:4, Jude 6,7) and the earliestChristian writers (e.g., Justin, Irenaeus, Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian, Origen) also take this line, 139.1616 16. Wenham, 139.1717 17. Wenham, 141.1818 18. Wenham, 141.1919 19. Wenham, 140.2020 20. The Sethite view is also the view of most of the highly acclaimed commentaries, both old and new, which I have beenusing in these studies in Genesis. A few outstanding examples are Calvin, Matthew Henry, Lange, Keil and Delitzsch, R. PayneSmith, Clark, and others.2121 21. Those in this category are Victor P. Hamilton; Derek Kidner, Genesis (Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity,1967); FrancisSchaeffer, Genesis in Space and Time (Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity, 1976).

main point of this cryptic passage is that a new age has been reached in the progress of evil, with Gods bounds overstepped in yet another realm.22He then outlines the support for both the angelic and the line of Seth views.23If the [angelic] view defies the normalities of experience, the [Sethite] defies those of language, for while the Old Testament can declare Gods people to be Hissons, the normal meaning of the actual term sons of God is angels, and nothing has prepared the reader to assume that men now means Cainites only.

Kidner ties the angelic view to the New Testament record.24

Possible New Testament support for angels may be seen in 1 Peter 3:19, 20; also in 2 Peter 2:46, where the fallen angels, the Flood, and the doom of Sodomform a series that could be based on Genesis, and in Jude 6, where the angels offense is that they left their proper habitation. The craving of demons for a body, .. . offers at least some parallel to this hunger for sexual experience. . . . More important than the detail of this episode is its indication that man is beyond self-help,whether the Sethites have betrayed their calling, or demonic powers have gained a stranglehold.

This is excellent insight by Kidner. While we have great difficulty understanding this passage, evidently the original recipients of Genesis did not.What they understood by verses 12 unfortunately has not been passed on to us. Our understanding of Genesis as a book, which is written to a peoplewho knew fallen spiritual beings could take on human bodies to engage in illicit sexual relationships with human beings, would incline me towardsthe view of the sons of God as fallen angelic beings. My objections to this view, however, are all but insurmountable to me because of my research,my counseling with demonized people, and my experience with them in dealing with sexual demons.Sexual DemonsDemons which specialize in having sex with human beings, both male and female, are very common. They have been known and written aboutfor centuries. They are called incubi and succubai. The former take on the male sexual role and the latter the female. While incubi and succubaispirits do engage in full sexual relationships with humans, they do not produce sperm, and are thus incapable of procreating children and producing arace of beings half demon and half human.Russell mentions this problem. He says, referring to the view of the theologians of the Middle Ages who dealt with this phenomena: Thoughhaving no body himself, the devil may assume a body in which he can (for example) have sexual intercourse, though neither as incubus nor succubuscan he engender offspring.25 I agree with Russell at this point. To me this makes the angelic view much more improbable than the Sethite view, inspite of difficulties with the latter.While I am strongly inclined towards the Sethite position and away from the fallen angel view, like Wenham, I have difficulty with its way ofinterpreting both the sons of God and the daughters of men. I also have difficulty believing the original recipients of the book would get thatposition from the text alone. Thus, we are probably left with an unresolvable question.A New Age in the Progress of Evil2222 22. Kidner, 83.2323 23. Kidner, 84. For an excellent discussion of the Sethite versus the angelic view, see Keil and Delitzschs extensive notes andfootnotes (132137). For a good summary of both views, and one of the most outstanding treatments of satanology anddemonology in a systematic theology, see Lewis Sperry Chafer, Systematic Theology (Dallas, Texas: Dallas Seminary Press, 1947)23. Whether or not one agrees with Chafers dispensational view of the Bible, few who write on systematic theology surpassChafers treatment of satanology and demonology. See also Lewis Sperry Chafer, SatanHis Motive and Methods (Grand Rapids,Mich.: Zondervan, 1969).2424 24. Kidner, 84.2525 25. Jeffrey Burton Russell, Lucifer: The Devil in the Middle Ages (Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 1986a), 206; see also77, 181183, 297; and Russell, 1987a, 73, 9293, 194. In his book Witchcraft in the Middle Ages (Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell UniversityPress, 1985), his material on incubi and succubai is too extensive to even list. See his index (386, 392). Kurt Koch, ChristianCounseling and Occultism (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Kregel Publications, 1978b), 162164. Also see Keil and Delitzsch, 132137;Chafer, 1957, 3:26.

I believe Kidner is right when he states, with this cryptic passage a new age has been reached in the progress of evil, and more important thanthe detail of this episode is its indication that man is beyond self-help, whether the Sethites have betrayed their calling, or demonic powers havegained a stranglehold.26I would like to add to Kidners excellent observations. Not only is man beyond self-help, but he has become so depraved that he is beyonddivine help. He is now so totally demonized (my view) and so given over to the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride oflife (1 John 2:16), that he is beyond hope of ever responding to the striving of Gods Spirit (6:3,57). Like Ephraim of a yet future day, he is totallyjoined to idols (Hos. 4:17). Thus, God declares in verse 3, to paraphrase Hosea 4:17b, He is beyond help, let him alone.Human civilization in Noahs day reached a state of total depravity never known before and never known since. All men in all cultures havebecome like the future cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. God cannot find even ten righteous men to cause him to hold back the total, universaldestruction of the human race. He found only eight in Noahs family: Noah, his wife, three sons, and three daughters-in-law (Gen. 7:1,7).Judged on the basis of upcoming studies in this book on how demons latch onto sin areas in human lives, a race of menincluding men, women,and their victimized childrenlike those described in Genesis 6 would be universally demonized. The one joyful exception is Noah and his family.Now we must deal with three other related matters. First, the immediate effect of the unlawful cohabitation described in verses 12 upon GodHimself (v. 3); the fruit of the unnatural cohabitation, whatever it was (v. 4); and, the long-range effect of all the evil described in verses 14 upon aholy and righteous God (vv. 58).The Immediate Effect on GodWe begin with the immediate effect upon God of the disgusting promiscuous and unnatural cohabitation described in verses 12. First, God says,My Spirit shall not strive with man forever or, shall not remain in man forever, the literal translation.27While the exact meaning of the verse may be difficult to discover, the general meaning is not, and that should be good enough for all of us.Hamilton observes thatthe word about the divine displeasure comes between the cohabitation scene (v. 2) and the reference to the children produced by the union (v. 4). By placing theverse where it is, the author is making the point that this forbidden union itself is offensive to Yahweh, rather than the fact that such a union produced (hybrid)offspring.28

In other words, the offense is so horrendous it is unforgivable. God will withdraw His Spirit from His former relationship to humanity. Keil andDelitzsch interpret God as saying, My Spirit shall not rule in men forever; in their wandering they are flesh.29Calvins notes are very helpful at this point.Moses . . . introduces God Himself as the speaker. For there is greater weight in the declaration when pronounced by Gods own mouth, that the wickedness ofmen was too deplorable to leave any apparent hope of remedy, and that therefore there was no reason why he should spare them.

Calvin continues, saying that God had not been impelled by the heat of His anger into precipitation, nor had been more severe than was right;but was almost compelled, by necessity, utterly to destroy the whole world, except one single family.30Verse 3b gives the crucial rationale behind the statement of Gods giving up on the existing race of men, including the line of Seth (exceptNoahs family). The verse says, . . . because he also is flesh. This is really an amazing statement. It almost anticipates the later New Testamentusage of the word flesh (sarx in Greek) in a moralor betterimmoral sense.2626 26.2727 27.2828 28.2929 29.3030 30.

Kidner, 8384.Wenham, 141142; Hamilton, 266269. Both discuss the difficulties with finding the best translation of this verse.Hamilton, 266.Keil and Delitzsch, 134.Calvin, 240241.

Wenham says, Flesh is one of the most significant anthropological terms in the Old Testament. Its basic meaning is flesh, body. Sometimesflesh refers to mans moral weakness and propensity to sin (cf. Gen. 6:12).31 This is New Testament language, but not totally unknown in the OldTestament, Hamilton states.32Thus, in Gods use of flesh here we have a preview of the highly developed New Testament use of flesh. We now know from the NewTestaments advanced teachings that if men fail to maintain the flesh crucified with Christ, they open the doors of their lives to demonic entrapment(1 Cor. 7:5; Eph. 4:27; 1 Tim. 3:67; 4:1; 5:1415). This, on a worldwide scale, is what happened in Genesis 6. The result was the total demonicbondage of the race to evil spirits. The final result was the judgment of the Flood (6:13Gen. 9). This to me is the only possible interpretation of thisunique story of angelic-human evil.The Identity of the NephilimThe next subject we must consider as it relates to the spiritual warfare motif of Genesis 6 is the reference to the Nephilim and the mighty menwho were of old, men of renown (v. 4). These are somehow related to the events of verses 12 as the same sin of the sons of God with the daughtersof men is retold in the middle of verse 4. Their lives and those of the sons of God and daughters of men are somehow related.The best explanation to the relationships involved seems to be the simplest. While the sins of the sons of God and the daughters of men wereoccurring, other disturbing events were taking place on earth at the same time. One, the Nephilim were then on earth. Two, mighty men who were ofold, men of renown were also making their impact felt on the world.Who were the Nephilim? One thing is certain. They were not the progeny of fallen angels and mortal womenhalf demon and half human.While a popular view, it is totally without biblical support. The proof is that the Nephilim appeared again hundreds of years after the Flood inNumbers 13:33. Yet, the Nephilim on earth in Genesis 6 were all destroyed in the Flood. Thus, they must have been a class or type of human beingwho could emerge again any time after the Flood. That is exactly what occurred.33Hamilton says the word Nephilim means fallen ones.34 Leupold says it means to fall apart, to attack,; i.e., robbers, attackers or banditswho struck fear into the heart of men.35 He quotes Luther as saying they were tyrants who were on the earth already at the time when the Sethitescommingled with the Cainites, but also that they continued after that sad confusion.36Leupold then connects verse 4a with the rest of verse 4. He says that while the Nephilim were on the earth the line of Seth intermingled with theline of Cain. Finally, he says, the mighty men were these Nephilim. In their own eyes they were the heroes of antiquity, or the men of renown (Heb.men of the name). They scared everyone else to death, however. They achieved a reputation the world over by violence, but a reputation betterdeserving of the term notoriety. The world certainly did not in those days, even as it does not now, esteem godly men highly. Only the wicked wererenowned or had a name.37Finally they are identical with the giants who frequently appear in the biblical record, W. B. Wallis says.38Everything in verses 14 is meant to be the rationale for what follows in verses 58 and beyond: Gods total displeasure with the entire humanrace because of their almost undescribable perversity and His decision to destroy all humanity except Noah and his family.3131 31.3232 32.3333 33.men he3434 34.3535 35.3636 36.3737 37.3838 38.

Wenham, 142.Hamilton, 268269.W. B. Wallis writing on Nephilim in ZPEB 4:409 provides superb support for the position I take here. Writing about thesesays, There is nothing demonic or mythological in the story. These men were born of normal human marriages.Hamilton, 270.H. C. Leupold, Exposition of Genesis (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker, 1987), 258.Leupold, 258259.Leupold, 259.Wallis, 409.

Verse 5 reveals what God saw. Verse 6 reveals how He felt about what He saw. Verse 7 reveals His decision to take action in light of what Heboth saw and felt. Verse 8 reveals Gods recognition that there was one man and his family whom he could behold with favor.Thus, on carrying out his decision of verse 7, God would spare this man and begin anew with him. Here was a man worthy of becoming thesecond father of the race made in Gods image and likeness. Here was the new Adam. His name was Noah.Major Spiritual Warfare Lessons From Genesis 6:18Regardless of what position one takes concerning the more difficult aspect of this story (we have outlined the major ones, but not all the problemscommentators have with this passage), the major spiritual warfare lessons are clear. One, since the Fall every intent of the thoughts of (mans) heartwas only evil continually, the result is the wickedness of man was great on the earth (v. 5). Humanity is now capable of sin in any form (Gal.5:1921). Humanity is involved in a sin war.Two, this war is a multidimensional sin war. Man battles with his flesh (v. 3). He battles with the world (vv. 17). He battles with evilsupernaturalism (vv. 14 in light of 4:7). He totally loses this multidimensional sin war.The world was now a world of Cains (4:4 with 6:17). Like Cain, it had become of the evil one (1 John 3:12). Without doubt, this was themost demonized generation of human beings ever to live on earth. Thus God must totally destroy them and begin again with the one man who, likeSeth whose descendant he was, called upon the name of the LORD (4:26).One man had learned to put to death the passions of his flesh. One man had learned to resist victoriously the external stimulus of perhaps the mostwicked world system ever to exist on this earth. One man had learned to resist the devil and see him flee.Most important of all, he helped his wife and three sons to do the same. His sons, in turn, found young women not yet totally depraved by evil.They led them to know Yahweh as their Lord and formed God-fearing ideal homes.Nothing is said about Noahs sons having borne children before the Flood. It is possible that they did, however. Since small children are not heldresponsible for sin even though they possess a sin nature (Rom. 4:15; 5:13), they would not be counted as unjust, especially since they were raised insuch a God-fearing family. Thus, it can be affirmed no matter how corrupt is the environment in which we are forced to live, God has given to all ofus the necessary weapons of our warfare in order to walk in victory (2 Cor. 10:35; Eph. 6:1020; 1 Pet. 5:811).

32Spiritual Warfare From the Flood to the Call of AbrahamThe rationale behind Gods drastic decision to destroy all flesh (Gen. 6:13) is summed up in verse 5:Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

The outward actions resulting from the evil mindset of the heart of pre-Flood humanity are revealed in six graphic statements in Genesis 6, eithersupplied by the writer or spoken by God Himself.1. Illicit sexual activities prevailed (vv. 12).No matter which of the three interpretations of the sons of God and the daughters of men one may choose, illicit sexuality is the focus ofthese two verses. In time this sexual exploitation corrupted the women and eventually their offspring. When the sexual revolution had becomeworldwide, the full description of the total perversity of the age was revealed.2. The wickedness of man was great on the earth (v. 5a).3. Every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually (v. 5b).4. The earth was corrupt in the sight of God (6:11a,12). Corruption is the dominant word mentioned three times in these two verses.5. The earth was filled with violence (6:11b,13b).

Violence and general wickedness were evidently the results of the total corruption of humanity. The most repulsive form of this violence andcorruption seems to have been sexual. The selfish exploitation of women seems supported by two other statements.First, though all males followed these evil sexual practices, the Nephilim seem, in time, to have become initiators of this unrestrained sexual evil. 1Second, these mighty men of renown were known not for their goodness, but rather for their evil. As Calvin says, The giants, then, had a priororigin; but afterwards those who were born of promiscuous marriages imitated their example.2 Evil reproduced itself in more evil. Children followedthe licentious behavior of their parents until all humanity, except Noah and his family, were beyond hope of repentance.It is this world which God sees as totally worthless and unredeemable. God then declares His purpose to annihilate mankind totally from the faceof the earth, with the exception of Noah and his family (6:13,17). The Flood soon follows (6:145:22).Chapter 9 records the Noahic Covenant. Chapter 10 lists the lineage of Noah and his three sons. We will not give attention to these two chapters.We will, however, return to chapter 10 in a moment. Chapter 11 records the beginning of the second phase of corruption, which engulfs the humanrace after the Fallthe events surrounding the Tower of Babel, or Babylon (11:9).THE TOWER OF BABELThe Tower of Babel, indeed Babylon itself, takes us right into the arena of terrible spiritual warfare. Both the Tower and the city are symbols ofreligious humanism, idolatry, polytheism, and defiance of God. Babylon had been mentioned in 10:10. The writer now explains the origin of thenameconfusion (11:9) as he describes the efforts of humanity to defy God and to deify themselves.It helps us to follow the chronological flow of the early chapters of Genesis to know something about the time which elapsed between the Floodand Babel. Calvin believes it was about 100 years.3 He arrives at this conclusion by computing the years recorded in Genesis 10. (Wenham says over300 years.)This means that Noah and his three sons were alive during the events described in Genesis 11:19 if there are not large gaps in the genealogieslisted in chapter 10.4 They were probably not part of the rebellious group mentioned in chapter 11, however. This group had journeyed east to Shinar(11:2), that is, to Babylon.5NimrodGenesis 10 gives us the origin of Babylon in one man called Nimrod. His personal character became the character of the nations of that area, evenuntil todayIran and Iraq. Genesis 10:812 talks of him as Nimrod . . . a mighty one on the earth (v. 8). He is one of the most famous butenigmatic men named in the Old Testament. Not only was he called a mighty hunter but also the great city builder who built Babylon and Nineveh(vv. 1011). He was one remarkable personage!11 1. I am assuming that the sons of God were not fallen watcher angels, but mortal men. As already mentioned, the mainproblem with the fallen angel view is the problem of incubi producing sperm, thus potentially creating angelic/human life andimpregnating women, out of which union emerges a hybrid demon-man creature which is more manlike in his lifestyle than fallenangels. This is a major stumbling block to the acceptance of that ancient view. In almost twenty years of research and experienceof expelling sexual demons from their human victims, even though some, both male and female, were, before their deliverance,regularly raped, or, in the case of consent, had regular sexual intercourse with incubi or succubi, demonic impregnation neveroccurred. While some sensationalistic books and movies have been built around this theme, I see no sound biblical, historical, orcontemporary evidence for such phenomena.22 2. John Calvin, Genesis (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker, 1987), 245.33 3. Calvin, 324. Calvin criticizes some Jewish views which held to upwards 340 years.44 4. Leupold says that Noah lived 58 years after the birth of Abraham. Shem did not die until Jacob was 48 years old . . . Shemeven outlived Abraham. H. C. Leupold, Exposition of Genesis (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker, 1987), 395396.55 5. See William LaSor in G. W. Bromiley ed., ISBE (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1991) 4:481.

Because of the seeming impossibility that one man could accomplish all that is listed here, some suggest Nimrod is the expression of a series ofgod-kings in this area who defied the Lord. His name would support this conjecture. It means we shall rebel.6Israels relationship with Mesopotamia, Assyria, Canaan, and Egypt formed the most important socio-cultural and religious relationships in herentire history in the Old Testament. Mesopotamia in general and Babylonia in particular are synonymous in the Old Testament with human cultureseparated from the true God, founded upon human pride, world domination, polytheism, henotheism, demonism, and animism.7For this reason I believe the scholars who take a more negative view of Nimrod and his exploits are correct. He built Babylonia and Assyria,Israels most horrendous persecutors in later days. He established the idolatrous culture out of which God found it necessary to call Abraham in orderto build His elect people, Israel.Two more things are important about Nimrod. He is the man of rebellion of Genesis 1011. He becomes a new Cain, a murderer and rebel againstGod. As a mighty one upon the earth, he became the mighty hunter. What he hunted were not animals, but men.8Leupold says that the word about his being a mighty hunter by itself might be taken to refer to hunting animals were it not for the phrase in thesight of Yahweh . . . He says, mans little hunting exploits are hardly sufficient to rouse the wonder and admiration of the Almighty. Besides, in thiscase the name of Yahweh is used, i.e., the God of mercy and covenant.9Thus Leupold states that since Nimrods exploits in conquering peoples and building two powerful anti-God and anti-Israel empires is the focalpoint of his hunting exploits, it is the hunting of men which is in question. He is an Old Testament antichrist figure.Calvin says Moses describes him as a furious manhe violently seized his preyhe approximated to beasts rather than to men. The expressionBefore the Lord, seems to me to declare that Nimrod attempted to raise himself above the order of men. He became the prototype of later godkings.10 This is important to the lifestyle picture Joshua later gives of the fathers of the nation of Israel.Nimrod is described as the builder of Babel (10:10). This leads to the story of the Tower of Babel (11:1f). Wenham says that Babel was themanifestation of mans desire to displace God from heaven, to make a name for ones self rather than allow God to do this.11The Sin of BabelAgain this supports our spiritual warfare interpretation of the sin of Babel leading to Gods judgment. Satan, the god of this world, building onthe corrupt flesh of man (his pride) and his worldly ambitions, was the spirit behind the Tower of Babel. Wenham says, Throughout ScriptureBabylon is seen as the embodiment of human pride and godlessness that must attract the judgement of almighty God.12 It is also the symbol of therejection of the true God and the creation of god systems which are created by men to meet their own selfish wants.Therefore the story before us in Chapter 11:19 is not encouraging. While those who journeyed east to Shinar did not constitute all of humanity,the judgment against Babel seems also to have been against all humanity. Human languages were confused. They were scattered abroad over theface of the whole earth (11:9). It was from descendants of this group that God called Abraham and formed the elect nation of Israel.One thing is certain, however, using this story as representative of the spiritual and moral conditions of humanity in general, things were bad.Forgotten were the lessons humanity should have learned from the judgment of God against mans sinfulness in the Deluge. Unfortunately, though66 6. See Gordon J. Wenham, Genesis 115, WBC (Waco, Texas: Word, 1987), 222223, and Victor P. Hamilton, The Book ofGenesis: Chapters 117 (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1990), 337339. Hamilton has a more positive view of Nimrod as ahistoric king than does Wenham. Calvin follows the more negative view of Nimrod as do most commentators including Leupold.77 7. See the major prophets, especially Isaiah 14:123; also the last book of the Bible, Revelation, chapters 1718.88 8. Calvin, 316320, and Leupold, 365368, provide important commentary on this.99 9. Leupold, 367.1010 10. Calvin, 316320; also Wenham, 222.1111 11. Wenham, 245.1212 12. Wenham, 245.

God gave the human race a new beginning with Noah, the human heart was still the same. The warfare with the flesh and the world and the Devilcontinued. As man became more and more preoccupied with himself and negligent of God, the old sin patterns soon surfaced again.Wenham wisely comments that the tower of Babel story is the last great judgment that befell mankind in primeval times. Its place and functionin Genesis 111 may be compared to the fall of man in Genesis 3 and the sons of God episode in Genesis 6:14, both of which triggered divinejudgments of great and enduring consequences. The same type of divine judgment occurs in this story also.13The social system established in Babylon is revealed in verses 34. It was thoroughly humanistic. They were not interested in Gods name, but intheir name.14 As Calvin remarks:15 To erect a citadel was not in itself so great a crime; but to raise an eternal monument to themselves, which mightendure throughout all ages, was a proof of headstrong pride, joined with contempt of God . . . they wage war with God.They wage war with God. They devised a social structuretheir worldat war with God. This is both the flesh and the world at war with thelaw of God written on human hearts. As we will soon see, it also had demonic overtones.Hamilton says the Tower was the predecessor of the Mesopotamian ziqqurat or ziggurat. He says it isa temple tower. Toward the end of the last century, the discovery of Esagila, the great temple of Marduk in Babylon, suggested this particular edifice as the sourcebehind the biblical narrative. The ziggurat of this temple was called E-temen-an-ki, house of the foundations of heaven and earth. Rising 300 feet above ground,with two sanctuaries in it, it was believed to have been built by the gods. This background makes the assertion of 11:5 very interesting: it was built byearthlings.16

M. J. A. Horsnell calls the Tower of Babel and the ziggurat major temple complexes. Others have seen it as the throne of the deity (cf. Isa.14:13).17Thus there is little doubt that the Tower had a religious as well as a human function. Hamilton says the Tower was a temple tower. It was not onlyan expression of mans pride (the flesh) with the purpose of gaining the esteem of other cultures (the world). It was also dedicated to foreign gods(evil supernaturalism). If so, Genesis 11 is a passage dealing with spiritual warfare from the perspective of multidimensional sin.While there is nothing in the account which speaks of foreign gods, building the Tower was mans attempt to make himself God or equal to God,Hamilton, Wenham, and Calvin affirm. Hamilton quotes P. C. Calderone as saying that the builders of the tower of Babel (Gen. 11:4) . . . in someway are rebelling against God and trying to be like Him.18Building the Tower was a repetition of humans deceived by Satans first great lie (Gen. 3:5). While Satans tactics might change, his goal isalways the same: to lead humanity to rebel against the lordship of God and to serve Satan by seeing himself as his own god or by serving false gods.The Call of Abraham1313 13. Wenham, 242.1414 14. See further E. A. Speiser, Word Plays on the Creation Epics Version of the Founding of Babylon, in J. J. Finkelstein and M.Greenberg, ed., Oriental and Biblical Studies, (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania, 1967), 5361; Hamilton, 352.1515 15. Calvin, 323324.1616 16. Hamilton, 352.1717 17. M. J. A. Horsnell, writing on the religions of Assyria in Babylonia in the ISBE says, Typical of a major temple complex wasthe ziggurat, a great man-made multi-staged mountain of earth and brick up to 90 m. (300 ft.) square and 45 m. (150 ft.) high (cf.Gen. 11:111, the tower of Babel). On its top, approached by long stairways (cf. the ladder in Jacobs dream in Gen. 28:12), wasthe high temple. At the bottom was the low temple. The significance of the ziggurat is unclear but it may have been perceivedas a giant altar that provided a link between earth and heaven (cf. Ezek. 43:1317, which describes an altar like a miniaturestepped ziggurat). Others have seen it as the throne of the deity (cf. Isa. 14:13) 4:8595. See D. J. Wiseman in ZPEB 5:846849.1818 18. Hamilton, 353.

The next great incident in Genesis is the call of Abraham (12:13). God called him out of the land of the Chaldeans, i.e., Mesopotamia (11:28).Thus from the very heart of the land of idolatry and polytheism, God begins again. He calls one manprobably an idolaterAbraham (Josh. 24:2) toHimself (Gen. 11:2612:3).It is not our purpose to make a study of the life and family of Abraham. We must look at Gods purpose in calling him, however. Genesis 12:13incorporates at least four major elements into Abrahams divine call:1. a call to a new land (v. 1);2. a call to be the father of a great nation (v. 2);3. a call to great blessings from God Himself (v. 2);4. a call to be a blessing to all the families of the earth (v. 2b3).We know the land was the land of Palestine, or Canaan. The great nation was the nation of Israel. The blessing of God was to be His covenantswith Abraham and His nation, Israel. The blessing Abraham was to be to all the families of the earth was God Himself manifested through Israel toall humanity. All, of course, would ultimately focus on the Messiah, the Son of God, our Lord and Savior.To accomplish this, God must first call Abraham out of the pit of idolatry and polytheism in which he was involved (Gen. 11:26; Josh. 24:23).Hamilton comments on Genesis 11:2732, noting that some of the names of Abrahams family members are associated with moon worship.19The possible connection of Terah (Heb. terah) with the word Yareah, moon and yerah, lunar month, if substantiated, would suggest that Abrams family andancestors were worshipers of the moon. One suggestion is that Terah means Ter, i.e., the divine brother or protector (Heb. ah), ter being a dialectal variant of shr,a South Arabic term for the moon. Sarai, Sarah, is the equivalent of sarratu, queen, an Akkadian translation of a Sumerian name for Ningal, the female partner ofthe moon-god Sin. Milcah is the same name as the goddess Malkatu, the daughter of Sin. Laban (Heb. laban) means white, and lebana, the white one, is a poeticterm for the full moon. In addition, both Ur and Haran were thriving centers of moon worship; thus it is probable that the theological milieu in which Abram livedfor a good bit of his life was one in which the cult focused its adoration on moon worship.

Next, God must strengthen Abraham to be able to live in the land of Canaan, a land also totally engaged in idolatry and polytheism. In Gods planwas a 400-year exile for Abrahams descendants in the land of Egypt (Gen. 15:1316). His descendants would then take the land, and through theirgodly lifestyle all the nations would come to know the one true God.The rest of the Old Testament is the story of that plan in progress. It is often a sad story of failure upon failure in following Yahweh, the true God.Israel would have only one major battle during the entire Old Testament period. It was the battle with the other gods, i.e., the no-gods (Gal. 4:8;Eph. 2:12).During their lifetime, the great patriarchs Abraham and Isaac and their families lived in the midst of the polytheism and idolatry of Canaan butremained true to God. To a limited extent, so did troublesome Jacob. During and after the sojourn in Egypt Israel went the opposite direction,however. Even after the Exodus, the nation continued to serve the gods of their fathersthe gods of Mesopotamia. They also continued to serve thegods of Egypt. Above all, they went after the gods of Canaan right up to the time of the Babylonian exile. This was Israels major area of spiritualwarfare. It was a war that Israel continually lost (Josh. 24; Judg. 221; 1, 2 Kings).THE EXODUSThe Exodus story found in Exodus 312 records the greatest series of power encounters in all the Old Testament. As A. A. MacRae says,20 Exodusdescribes

1919 19. Hamilton, 363.

one of the few periods in biblical history when God chose to work a substantial number of miracles . . . the purpose of a miracle is to show that a greater thanhuman power, namely the power of God, is involved, and to establish Gods authority in the presence of doubt or apostasy.

There are three groups of miracles in Exodus. By miracles I mean demonstrations of Gods power in either working with forces He had alreadyestablished in His universe or directly intervening and rearranging the course of nature. The biblical words for miracles refer to either process. Bothare miracles because God is directly involved, using them as signs of His presence.The first are pre-Exodus miracles. They occur with Moses, starting with the burning bush and continuing until the beginning of the contest withPharaoh. The second are the ten plagues, and the third are miracles God performed in the wilderness journey.Exodus Power EncountersWithout doubt, Exodus records the greatest series of miracles in any forty-year period of history in all of Scripture. As we will see in this study,the miracles, which become power encounters with the gods of Egypt, are the most spectacular in all of Scripture.First, the entire story from Exodus 312 must be seen as an encounter, a contest, between God and the gods of Egypt. This is the way Godhimself describes the plagues against Egypt in Exodus 12:12: For I will go through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgmentsI am the LORD.This is how Moses understood the whole Exodus story as he declared in his great hymn of praise which he evidently taught to the sons of Israel inExodus 15. He says, Who is like Thee among the gods, O LORD? Who is like Thee, majestic in holiness, awesome in praises, working wonders? (v.11).When he reported the story of the Exodus to his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, what was Jethros response? Exodus 18:9,11 tells us.And Jethro rejoiced over all the goodness which the LORD had done to Israel, in delivering them from the hand of the Egyptians. . . . Now I knowthat the LORD is greater than all the gods; indeed, it was proven when they dealt proudly against the people. So Moses, Jethro, and God Himself saw the entire Exodus story as a series of power encounters by which God made fools of the gods of Egypt.Even the magicians of Egypt, in the midst of the contest, cried out to hard-hearted Pharaoh, this is the finger of God (Exod. 8:19).God hit Egypt with a series of ten plagues, power demonstrations on Gods part. All struck directly at the nature gods of Egypt. They had oneoverall, primary purpose: to cause Egypt, Pharaoh, and Israel as well, to know that the Lord, He is God (6:18; 7:5,17; 8:10,19; 9:14,29; 10:12;14:1718; 15:118). The last one, the death of the firstborn, had the additional purpose of bringing Gods direct judgment upon Egypt and its prouddemi-god leader, the Pharaoh.When Moses was first commissioned by God to go to Egypt and bring out his people, God told him that Pharaoh would not listen (Exod. 3:19),but God would stretch out His hand with all His miracles, which He would do (Exod. 3:20).Just before Moses left for Egypt he received his first indication that the job would not be easy. God told Moses:When you go back to Egypt see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders which I have put in your power; but I will harden his heart so that he will not letthe people go.Then you shall say to Pharaoh, Thus says the LORD, Israel is My son, My first-born. So I said to you, Let My son go, that he may serve Me; but you haverefused to let him go. Behold, I will kill your son, your first-born. (Exod. 4:2123)

God, then, is giving Moses an overview of the slow process of the contest. He also says it will not be over until God has killed Pharaohs firstbornson. Certainly, God had set out to punish this proud, idolatrous, demonized nation. He had also determined to strike down Egypts god-king.With Aaron as his prophet, Moses first goes to the Hebrews in bondage. Exodus 4:3031 records: and Aaron spoke all the words which theLORD had spoken to Moses. He then performed the signs in the sight of the people. So the people believed; and when they heard that the LORD wasconcerned about the sons of Israel and that He had seen their affliction, then they bowed low and worshiped.The signs were certainly the same signs indicated by God in 4:19, the rod turning into a serpent; the hand which became leprous like snowthen was restored again like the rest of his flesh; water from the Nile turning to blood as it was poured out upon the dry ground.

While not recorded in the early chapters of Exodus, it is later recorded that during the Egyptian bondage the Jews began to worship the gods ofEgypt. Nevertheless, they evidently kept their historic faith alive from generation to generation (4:5, 31). God, however, had lost His power in theireyes. He was a God with less power than the power gods of Egypt. To bring them back to the true God, historic theology alone was worthless. Theyneeded God to demonstrate that His power was greater than the power of all the gods of Egypt. On seeing the power demonstrations, the peoplebelieved (v. 31a). Then when they heard the theology after the demonstrations of power, they bowed low and worshipped (v. 31b), perhaps forthe first time in hundreds of years.Moses first request for permission from Pharaoh to let Israel go was a total failure (5:1ff). Moses felt defeated. He wished he had nevervolunteered (Exod. 3:104:17) for the job (4:1013). This is exactly what God wanted to happen, however (4:21).Anatomy of a Power EncounterThe power demonstrations began with the next contact between Moses, Aaron, and Pharaoh (6:1f). God set the stage when He said, Now youshall see what I will do to Pharaoh; for under compulsion he shall let them go, and under compulsion he shall drive them out of his land (v. 1).Pharaoh, without knowing it, had already established the challenge, an essential part of any true power encounter. He had mockingly declared,Who is the LORD that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know the LORD, and besides, I will not let Israel go (5:2). God answersPharaoh by saying, to paraphrase, Now you are going to find out just who I am when you see what I will do to you and to all of Egypt. You willbecome so terrified of Me, you will drive Israel out of the land (6:1).We cannot examine in detail each of the ten plagues. I have listed them on the chart below.

ague No.456

Plaguefliesanimal pestilenceboils

Plague No.789

From the beginning God had warned Moses, I know that the King of Egypt will not permit you to go, except under compulsion (3:19). Godrepeats this word after Moses first failure (6:1).Next we have Gods promise-threat concerning Pharaoh, I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go (4:21).22 This, too, wasspoken before Moses and Aaron even arrived in Egypt. Exodus repeatedly records that Pharaoh hardened his heart (8:15) or, simply, that his heartwas hardened (7:13).Thus, after Moses failure in 5:1ff, God tells his servant the battle plan he is following. In doing so, he clearly states But I will harden Pharaohsheart that I may multiply My signs and My wonders in the land of Egypt (7:3). This all fits into his dual purpose of declaring to all that I am theLORD (6:29) and judging Egypt and its gods (12:12).God himself issued the power challenge to the gods of Egypt. While Pharaoh responded with his own challenge (5:2), God initiated it. He wasgoing to judge the gods of Egypt (12:12). In doing so, he allowed the magicians to gain certain advantages at first. They matched power with2222 22. The question of God hardening Pharaohs heart has provoked controversy for centuries. All the commentaries andreference works cited in our study deal in depth with this troublesome issue. For my part, God is God. He does what He does andwhat He does is always just (Rom. 3:56) because He is God. He judges sin in His manner. Egypt is to be judged for its centuriesof rebellion and idolatry. God will use the natural hardness of Pharaohs heart to accomplish His righteous judgments upon thiswicked nation. So He has done throughout history and will continue to do until the end.

Plaguehaillocustsdarknes

power and miracle with miracle with Moses and Aaron. They made their rods become serpents also (7:11); they turned water into blood (7:22), andhad frogs come up on the land of Egypt just as did Moses and Aaron (8:7).Then, they totally failed, beginning with the plague of insects (8:1819). They tried once more with the plague of boils. Again they failed (9:11).With this they gave up. They then joined Moses and Aarons team, begging hard-hearted Pharaoh that he let Israel go (8:1819; 10:7f).This is the only record of a power encounter in all of Scripture where the servants of the no-gods are allowed to duplicate the powerdemonstrations of the servants of God for a period of time. While in the long run it only served to intensify the final power demonstrations and tomagnify the absolute power of God Almighty, it must have been unnerving to Moses and Aaron.The story does raise very controversial questions about the power of Satan and his demons to perform creative miracles. I leave this matter to theexperts. God allows evil supernaturalism to work with the existing powers of nature and to manipulate them towards their evil and deceptivepurposes. Thus they can cause storms, illnesses, and all kinds of damage, as the Scriptures clearly reveal. In the end time, the Antichrist will evidentlypossess greater miraculous powers than ever witnessed before on the part of evil supernaturalism. He will come in accord with the activity of Satan,with all power and signs and false wonders, and with all the deception of wickedness (2 Thess. 2:910), similar to the encounter told me by myfriend Dr. Petros Octavianus of Indonesia.A Modern Power EncounterDr. Octavianus was challenged to a power encounter by a pagan power worker, one of the most famous in all of Indonesia.Dr. Octavianus told me he never lightly responds to serious challenges to power demonstrations like this one. Power encounter is part of hisministry, working as he does with folk Muslims as animistic as they are Muslim. But in power encounters to which the public is to be invited, he isvery cautious. He seeks the mind of God before giving his answer. God told him, he said, to proceed.When the day of the public power encounter arrived, the demonized power man took the initiative. Before hundreds of people he singled out anearby dog. He said, To show you the power of my gods I will take the life of that dog without touching him. Can your God do that? Pointing at thedog he gave a command and the animal dropped dead in its tracks. The multitude was astonished. Without hesitating, Dr. Octavianus walked right upto the power worker and pointing at him, said, My God does not arbitrarily take life. He came to give life. He wants to give life to you also. In thename of the Lord Jesus Christ I take away all of your demonic power.Instantly the magician fell to the ground, unconscious. The multitude thought he was dead. Dr. Octavianus knelt down beside the lifeless form ofthe power worker and touched his head. Instantly he revived. Right there on the ground he came to Christ. Later, long golden needles had to beremoved from his legs. These were the physical power amulets of his demons. Embedded below the surface of the skin, they emerged miraculouslyon their own through prayer.23We are all familiar with the rest of the Exodus story. By the power of God, God took His elect people out of Egyptian bondage. The elect nationof Israel was born on that day.24THE CONTINUING ENCOUNTERS WITH THE NO-GODS

2323 23. Petros Octavianus, 1980, authors personal notes.

2424 24. See G. Ernest Wrights view of The God Who Acts (London: SCM Press, Ltd., 1969). Most critical commentaries andreference works have excellent studies on the plagues and the religious encounter dimensions of the Exodus. We have alreadyreferred to the ISBE article by F. W. Bush on the Plagues of Egypt (3:878880). See the ISBE articles on The Book of Exodus,Date of Exodus, Route of Exodus, and the Exodus (2:222241). See the ZPEB on Exodus, Book of Exodus, and Plaguesof Egypt (4:805807). Most helpful is Professor John I. Durhams commentary Exodus, WBC (Waco, Texas: Word, 1987) and AlanCole, TOTC (Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity, 1973).

The next major spiritual warfare sections of the Old Testament all unite under one common theme. It is an area of warfare that became thegreatest problem Israel faced in all of her history, the encounter with the no-gods of the pagan nations surrounding Israel after Israels entrance intothe Promised Land.Preparation Through JoshuaIn Joshua 24, Gods man, Joshua, knows he will soon die and leave the fickle nation he has led since the death of Moses. He knows these peopletoo well. He knows they are still sensual, worldly, and wide open to religious spirits which deceive their followers by first meeting most of theirselfish physical and emotional needs.Joshua wants to bring them to a fresh encounter with God. Through Joshua as His prophet, God speaks to them with power and deep conviction(24:2f), recounting their history. In verses 14 and following, Joshua himself comes to the forefront as Gods prophet. He concludes the first portion ofthis parting discourse with therefore, and begins the final part of his challenge with a threefold command: fear the LORD; serve Him in sincerityand truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served (v. 14).We want to concentrate on this third command.The foreign gods (vv. 15,20,23) are of three types and form the major spiritual warfare force set against Israel till the end of the Old Testamentera. There are the gods which your fathers served beyond the River (vv. 2,1415); there are the gods of Egypt (v. 14); and there are the gods of theAmorites in whose land you are living (v. 15). While they had different names in different places, there was enough similarity and even interchangeof foreign gods, so that what we say about one group applies equally to the others.The Gods Beyond the RiverThe river was the Euphrates (v. 2). Thus the gods were the gods of Mesopotamia, the land of Babylon. This reference takes us back to Genesis1011. In Genesis 10, the writer records the generations of Noahs three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. All the nations of the biblical world aretraced to the three lines of these three sons in Genesis 1011. The peoples of Babylon (Mesopotamia) are traced to Ham (10:614), as are theCanaanites (v. 1120), and the EgyptiansMizraim is another name for Egypt . . . and other peoples (v. 6).25Many of the people listed here were important to Israel in her later history. However, it is uncertain exactly which peoples they were, but theirgeneral area is usually identifiable.26 I will mention only those who will be important in Israels later history and the spiritual warfare context of thathistory. The four in verse 6 are important, Cush, Mizraim, Put, and Canaan.One, Cush lies to the south of Israel and is identified with Ethiopia, following the Septuagint. But it probably covers a variety of dark-skinnedtribes (cf. Jer. 13:23) living beyond the southern border of Egypt. Most of Cushs descendants listed in the next verse seem to be located in Arabia,Wenham says. This also includes Seba, which some think referred to Sheba from where came the famous Queen of Sheba of Solomons day (1 Kings10:113).27Two, Mizraim should be translated Egypt, because it is the Hebrew word most used for that nation. Most of us are not aware of the terriblebondage of the Israelites to the gods of Egypt, both while they were in Egypt and also afterwards.Three, Put is a little more difficult to identify with certainty but there is general agreement that it represents Libya. Hamilton concludes hisdiscussion, saying, Except for Ezekiel 38:5 the LXX [Septuagint] translates Put in the prophetic passages as Libyans.28

2525 25.2626 26.2727 27.2828 28.

See Wenham, 221; Leupold, 364f.

The strange thing is that the Canaanites are identified with Ham rather than with Shem since they are clearly related to the Israelites, who aredescendants of Shem (11:10f). Canaan as used here, Wenham writes, would include the various people that inhabited the territory of modern Israel,Lebanon and part of Syria. A more precise definition follows in verses 1519.29Finally, in the more precise genealogy of Genesis 11:1031 the direct connection is made between Shem and Abram. Abram was born and raisedin the idolatrous demonic-prideful-anti-God land of Mesopotamia. This is the point picked up with great force and passion by Joshua in Joshua 24:23,1415,1920.We are now ready to examine Israels warfare, first with the gods of their fathers, the gods of Babylon.

33Warfare With the GodsThe Mesopotamian Pantheon of GodsThe gods on the other side of the river still appealed tremendously to the Israelites poised for conquest of the Promised Land. TheMesopotamian pantheon offered a god or goddess for every conceivable situation. Among the most important were Anu, Enlit, and Ea, the threeprincipal cosmic deities, and Sin, Samas, and Ishtar, the three astral deities, all with their consorts, or sexual partners. Ishtar was the most importantfemale deity. She was the morning and evening star (Venus), goddess of sexual love and fertilitygoddess of wargoddess of passions.1 She wassoon to be merged with Asthoreth, the principal Canaanite goddess.Other prominent deities included Adad, Dagan (called Dagon in Judg. 16:2330; 1 Sam. 5:210; 1 Chron. 20:910; and Jer. 5052), Ninurta,Nergal, Marduck (the biblical Marduk, Jer. 50:21), and Ashur. All had consorts.2 Dagan (biblical Dagon) was apparently a fertility god and the chiefgod of the Philistines.3Second, while these were the most prominent gods, they were by no means all. Horsnell says, Over three thousand deities were knownaltogether, many only by name from god-lists or from theophoric personal names.4Besides being polytheistic and henotheistic the religion of Mesopotamia included a fanatical search for protection from hordes of demon spiritswhich attacked people with distress and diseases.5 Elaborate rites of exorcism were developed with official priestly exorcists. Cult prostitutes,mostly female, tended many shrines. Sexual encounters among the gods and goddesses were common. The king and the principal cult priestessesreenacted these sexual encounters in special ceremonies. So did the common people, especially during religious festivals.6According to Babylonian theology, human spirits survived death and could return and trouble the living. They had to be appeased, also.Divination and magic were essential to the cults. Amulets were worn as protection against demons and angry human spirits. Images were treated as if2929 29. For a discussion of Canaans boundaries see Numbers 33:212 and Aharoni, The Land of the Bible (London: Burns andOates, 1966), 6170, 221. See also Hamilton, 336.11 1. M. J. A. Horsnell, Religions of the Biblical World: Assyria and Babylonia in G. W. Bromiley, ed., ISBE (Grand Rapids, Mich.:Eerdmans, 1989) 4:8589. His article is superb.22 2. Horsnell, 86.33 3. See H. A. Hoffner, Jr., Dagon and H. G. Stigers, Dagon, Temples of in Merrill C. Tenney, ed., ZPEB (Grand Rapids, Mich.:Zondervan, 1977) 2:26. Most of the article is on the role of Dagon within Philistine culture. It does, however, cover the origin ofthe cult in the Euphrates Valley.44 4. Horsnell, 87.55 5. Horsnell, 87.66 6. Horsnell, 8791.

they were alive.

Finally, Mesopotamian religion was animistic. The entire universe pulsated with life, and every phenomenon was embodied with living power,its numen . . . various numena were worshiped as divine and eventually personified as anthropomorphic, superhuman, immortal beings, resulting innaturalistic polytheism.7According to Joshua, the fathers, including Abraham himself,8 revered these gods from ancient time. At the same time the stories of the Delugeand the Tower of Babel and the only true God must have been in the memory of many of these Semitic peoples. Noah and Shem were still alive.Shem outlived Abraham! While nothing more is said about them, they were probably living at not too great a distance from the Chaldeans. Whereelse would they have gone?Now, four hundred years after Abraham, Joshua challenges the patriarchs descendants:Now therefore, fear the LORD and serve Him in sincerity and truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve theLORD.And if it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served whichwere beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD. (Josh. 24:1415)

Thus Joshua is concerned about three god systems threatening the purity of the Israelites worship of Jehovah: the gods beyond the river; the godsof Egypt; and the gods of the Amorites in whose land they now lived, i.e., the Canaanites.As we have seen, their fathers had been born and raised in the immoral, syncretistic, demon-ridden culture of Ur of the Chaldeans. While inEgypt they came into contact with people from these and other pagan lands. They fell back into the worship of the gods their fathers had abandonedwhen they were brought to faith in the true God (v. 14).The Gods of EgyptTheir biological fathers were Egyptian-born, however. The land of Egypt was filled with gods and goddesses. W. S. LaSor says there were thirtynine gods and goddesses widely worshipped in Egypt. Many were in animal form, in human form, or in human form with animal heads. More thanthis, the Egyptians regarded all nature as personal. Even the fiercest and most deadly of animals, i.e., the cobra, the scorpion, the crocodile, and thehippopotamus, were creatures connected with some god or king.9In addition, both male and female nudity was common in their religious shrines and art work, all which had religious significance. I, myself, havebeen embarrassed to the point of speechlessness after innocently walking with my wife into some of the most famous Egyptian ruins depicting lifesized figures, both male and female, their sexual organs grossly exaggerated. When one realizes that the Jews, as slaves, had to build many of thesebuildings and were surrounded by such vivid pornography year after year, it is no wonder that, with their faith in God shaken after years of slavery,they gave in to the sensual excitement of the pagan religions of Egypt and later of Canaan.The Gods of the Amorites77 7. Horsnell, 92.88 8. Some commentators try to escape the problem of Abrahams pagan background by pointing out that while the Scripturesspeak of the idolatry of Abrahams ancestors and family they never specifically speak of Abraham as being an idolater andpolytheist. I dont believe this argument fits the general thrust of Genesis 1112 and Joshua 24.First, Joshua does not separate Abraham from the sins of the fathers. By implication he includes Abraham as participating inthe general lifestyle of his pagan family (Josh. 24:23,14).Second, this is the whole point behind this and other dramatic accounts of Gods election. God calls whom He will, whichmeans He always calls undeserving sinners, usually the least expected.99 9. W. S. LaSor, Religions of the Biblical World: Egypt in ISBE 4:101107.

Next in Joshuas concern are the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living (v. 15). The word Amorite here includes all the peoples ofCanaan, many of them listed in verse 11. Thus they were the Canaanites, the ones I call the ite peoples. Where did they come from? What weretheir religious practices that were so appealing to the flesh of the Israelites?The best summary of Canaanite religion is given in Judges 2:13 and 3:7. After the death of Joshua and the elders who survived Joshua, and hadknown all the deeds of the LORD which He had done for Israel (Josh. 24:31), the people forsook the LORD and served Baal and the Ashtaroth(Judg. 2:13). They forgot the LORD their God and served the Baals and the Asheroth (Judg. 3:7). The entire Canaanite religious system centered inthis god-goddess pair.The origin of the Canaanites is given in the table of the nations in Genesis 10. Canaan was a son of Ham (Gen. 10:1519), Wenham remarks,The relevance of Canaan to Israel explains the amount of detail included here.10 Hamilton calls him the second [after Ham] most productiveancestor in the Table of Nations.11 The list of the people of Canaan is not complete nor does it mean they are all ethnically related to Ham or Canaan.Many scholarly commentators point out the basis of the descent is not always ethnic, but geopolitical, cultural, religious, and linguistic.Joshuas Demand for a Break With the GodsThe Canaanites scattered everywhere (Gen. 10:1819). They became a constant thorn in the flesh of the Israelites. Wenham says that theCanaanites are often viewed in the Pentateuch as the sinful nation who deserves Gods wrath.12 Joshua forcibly demands that they break with theirbondage to the base Canaanite religious practices (Josh. 24:15,23). What was he insisting that they forsake?First, they were to forsake Baal, the most prominent of the Canaanite gods. The name Baal means owner, master, lord, or husband. While El,the common Canaanite-Hebrew name for the creator of all, was the supreme God of their theology, Baal and Ashtoreth were more important to theactual life of the land and the people. Baal had risen to the place of almost universal prominence during the first millennium B.C.Baal began as the god of weather. In a dry land like Canaan, this soon gave him the place of prominence. Life could not function without him. Itwas natural next to see him as the god of fertility. A. E. Cundall says that Baal and the many local Baals were really one god. They were the greatcosmic nature god. They (as he)controlled fertility in agriculture, beasts and mankind. It was highly important to gain their favor. . . . This led to the adoption of extreme forms in the cults,including the practice of ritual prostitution (Judg. 2:17; Jer. 7:9; Amos 2:7) and child sacrifice (Jer. 19:5). . . . In the process of time Baal became the regions chiefdeity.13

The myth of the dying and rising god was reenacted during the Canaanite New Year Festival. It was directly connected to the fertility cycle andthe corresponding sexual fertility rites. Cundall says that this myth was attended by the appropriate response from the worshipers, culminating in thegrossly sensuous rites accompanying the sacred marriage, in which ritual prostitution of both sexes was a prominent feature. 14Second, they were to forsake Ashtoreth, their most important goddess. Ashtoreth was formerly the consort of El, but as this ancient god faded,Ashtoreth, his sexual partner, was slowly transferred over to Baal. Thus Judges 2:13 and 3:7 link Baal and Ashtaroth (2:13) and Asheroth (3:7)together (these are different names for the one goddess, Ashtoreth).Baal also had another goddess consort, Anath or Anat. She was called the virgin. Anath was perhaps a virgin to others but not to Baal, for shewas both consort and sister to Baal and shared his several adventures.15 Here is incest and polygamy among the gods.1010 10.1111 11.1212 12.1313 13.1414 14.1515 15.

This mother goddessin the queen of heaven tradition of which Ashtoreth (Asthtart, Athtart, Asheroth, Astarte, or Ashtoreth)16 played the keyfemale role was universal throughout the Near East, going back as far as the fourth millennium B.C. according to W. White, Jr.17The sexual practices associated with her cult were so repulsive to Jewish leaders that the Greek LXX [Septuagint] and other Old Testament textscommonly mutilated her name by supplantingthe original vowels with those of another usually derogatory word . . . (like) the vowels for shame were infixed, thus any magical power or ascription of praise tothe pagan deity was forever prohibited from the biblical texts. 18

White says that the worship of the mother goddesses in the Near East and elsewhere in the world is evidenced by the frequency of small fertilityfigurines excavated from sites as early as the Lower Paleolithe Period.19In the earliest written documents from Mesopotamia, she is first called Inanna and later Isthar. Both were consorts of leading male gods. Whitesays, Inanna was the consort of the shepherd god Dumuzi (Hebrew, Tammuz; see Ezek. 8:14) for whom she wept at his seasonal death.20 Asmother goddess, Inna-Isthar-Ashtoreth forms a vital part of the fertility rites.21White comments that This sexual aspect of the worship of the mother goddess appears to have carried over into every culture of the Near Eastwhere the cult was practiced. He then comments on the annual reenactment of the marriage of Dumuzi and Inaana-Ishtar which features sexualintercourse between the King (in Babylonia) and a temple priestess-prostitute.Ashtoreth-Isthar was well known among the Egyptians, also. Her name has been found in Egyptian inscriptions. Regarding a letter among theremains of Pharaoh Amenophis III (14051357 B.C.), White writes thatthe name of the goddess is glossed with the descriptive phrase, Istar, Queen of Heaven. . . . In time, cuneiform literature utilized the name Istar as a general nounfor goddess. . . . In the Syria-Palestine she is depicted in art with Egyptian garments and attributes.

Thus the Jews were familiar with the cult before leaving Egypt. When they reached the Promised Land (Canaan), they found it filled with shrinesto Baal and Ashtoreth. She appears frequently in the Ugaritic tablets from Ras Shamra. White says, Her comprehension in the minds of her devoteesreached extraordinary heights of poetry and drama, some aspects of which were later sublimated by the Hebrews to the worship of Jehovah.22As a result, Israel was constantly drawn to the Baal-Ashtoreth cults, especially the sexual aspects of the cult. White in great frankness says,Throughout history the Jews were constantly tempted to worship this pagan goddess and attend her rituals, and it was this forbidden practice whichfinally led to Israels captivity and the seventy years in Babylon.23 But that captivity was centuries in the future when Joshua issued his challenge inJoshua 24.

1616 16. Ashtoreth was her most popular name. She was also known as Ashtoroth (the plural), Ishtar, Aphrodite, Athah, Naaman,Asthart, Astarte, Venus, Astarter, Atargatis, and Asheroth (see A. E. Cundall, W. White, Jr., Ashtoreth in ZPEB 1:359361, and A.H. Sayce and K. G. Jung, Ashtoreth in ISBE 1:319320.1717 17. W. White, Jr., in ZPEB 1:359361. See also A. H. Sayce and K. G. Jung in ISBE 1:319320.1818 18. White. 359.1919 19. The writer found parts of two Asthoreth figurines while searching through piles of pottery and other debris discarded byarchaeologists near the ancient site of Bet Shean in Galilee (with the archaeologists permission). Both had grossly exaggeratedbreasts, which White refers to in his article, 1:359361.2020 20. White, 360. See Whites interesting discussion of the myths of Inanna and Isthar, 360.2121 21. The reader will find a reasonably good but brief overview in E. M. Yamauchis article Fertility Cults in ZPEB 2:531532.2222 22. White, 360.2323 23. White, 361.

The people responded positively to his call to put away the foreign gods which were presently in their midst. A search of their tents andpossessions would have revealed household gods, or seraphim. Also, they were already secretly serving Baal, Ashtoreth, and the other Canaanitegods and spirits.Joshua also realized they were living in a land in which the iniquity of the Amorite was now complete (Gen. 15:16). This reference fromGenesis is very important. It is found in the context of one of the greatest of all Abrahams face-to-face encounters with God. Abraham had justreturned from his deliverance of Lot. God meets his faithful servant in a vision and says,Do not fear, Abram,I am a shield to you;Your reward shall be very great. (Gen. 15:1)

Abraham complains that he is still childless (15:23). God promises him a son, born of his own loins (vv. 45). Verse 6 says, Then he believed inthe LORD; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness. The writer states that God told Abraham that his descendants would be slaves in a strangeland for four hundred years. Then God promises:But I will also judge the nation whom they will serve; and afterward they will come out with many possessions. . . .Then in the fourth generation they will return here, for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet complete. (Gen. 15:14,16)

This amazing revelation from God deals with three incredible future events: the four-hundred-year Egyptian bondage (v. 13); Gods judgmentupon Egypt (v. 14); and taking with them the spoils of Egypt in the Exodus (v. 14).Then God gives the only reason for this four-hundred-year wait until the Promised Land would finally be given to the descendants of Abraham.God says, for the iniquity of the Amorites (Canaanites) is not yet complete (v. 15). Hamilton comments that this last half of the verse articulatesthe idea that the fixing of times is conditioned not on necessity but on morality. This commentary on the immorality of the indigenous population ofCanaan also establishes Joshuas invasion as an act of justice rather than aggression.24 Kidner adds, Until it was right to invade, Gods people mustwait, if it cost them centuries of hardship. This is one of the pivotal sayings of the Old Testament.25Returning to Joshua 24, we can say that at the time Joshua was speaking, the Amorites had not been exterminated as God had commanded,though their iniquity was now complete. This was Joshuas worry. Instead of exterminating the Amorites, the people compromised with their gods.Jehovah was different than the gods they were used to. He was in a class by Himself. They found it difficult to relate to Him. He was just too holy forsuch a sinful people.One cannot escape forming the impression the people followed God because they were afraid of Him, not because they truly loved Him. In theirresponse to Joshua, it is the newly revealed power of God that is their main focus, not His compassion and gentleness. Joshua knew this. He knewhow attractive the Canaanite gods were. They made no moral demands. In fact, drunkenness, orgies, and all types of immoral partying was part of theway they worshipped these human-like gods and goddesses. Thus, Joshua becomes even more direct. He answers the people in Joshua 24:1920:You will not be able to serve the LORD, for He is a holy God. He is a jealous God; He will not forgive your transgression or your sins. If you forsake the LORD andserve foreign gods, then He will turn and do you harm and consume you after He has done good to you.

The people were persistent, however. No, but we will serve the LORD, they responded (v. 21). Joshua had no choice but to take them at theirword. He stated,You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen for yourselves the LORD, to serve Him. And they said, We are witnesses.

Things go very well for a number of years. Joshua 24:31 states,

And Israel served the LORD all the days of Joshua and all the days of the elders who survived Joshua, and had known all the deeds of the LORD which He had donefor Israel.2424 24. Hamilton, 436.2525 25. Derek Kidner, Genesis, TOTC (Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity, 1967), 125.

But Judges 2 tells the rest of the story. It is a prelude of the history of Israel for centuries to come:the sons of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD. . . . So they forsook the LORD and served Baal and the Ashtaroth. (Judg. 2:11,13)

The battle with the gods of the land which we have described in this chapter had just begun. If Joshua spoke these words about 1400 B.C., thenthat battle would go on for about 1000 years or more, until the return from the Exile in about 457440 B.C. The Jews were slow to learn the horribleconsequences of serving foreign gods. When they did finally learn, however, they never again forgot that the Lord, He alone is God. They reallyonly suffered one major failure after that. It occurred at the foot of the cross outside of Jerusalem in the year 30 A.D. That was, for Israel, the greatestmoral-spiritual failure of their centuries of spiritual warfare.

34The Low Point in Spiritual WarfareHuman SacrificeBefore looking at the nadir or lowest point to which the demonic religions of the Old Testament world had sunk, two remarks must be made aboutIsraels understanding of the demonic activity found in pagan religious practices. First, not all Israelites at all times recognized they were involved indirect encounter with demons as they related to the gods and idols of the peoples of the Promised Land. Their understanding waxed and waned inrelation to the closeness of their walk with Yahweh, the true God. Second, their view of the spirit world was always filtered through their view of theabsolute sovereignty of God. Israel could not conceive of Satan or his seducing spirits being able to work among believers without the directpermission of God.Satan and the spirits could do what they wished with the pagans since they were actually worshipping them anyway. They understood that thethings which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons and not to God (1 Cor. 10:20).1 But when it came to disturbing a child of God directly,they had first to obtain direct permission from God (Job 12). The Jews also knew that in some cases God Himself sent evil spirits to punish Hisdisobedient children (1 Kings 22:1923).When God Sent an Evil Spirit: 1 Kings 22The 1 Kings 22 passage has disturbed commentators for centuries. To even begin to understand what is occurring it must be seen in its context.Wicked King Ahab is at war with Syria (22:1f). Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, pays him a visit (22:2). Up until now he has been an excellent king (2Chron. 17). His only major mistake, one he committed twice, was seeking a close relationship with the kings of Israel. God rebuked him through theprophet Jehu for his alliance with Ahab, but forgave him (2 Chron. 19:1f). He did not forgive him when he repeated this sin with King Ahaziah ofIsrael (2 Chron. 20:3521:1).Ahab wants God to sanction his plan to go to war with the Syrians (1 Kings 22:5f). He assembles his 400 false prophets who give him the goahead word (22:6,1012). Jehoshaphat does not trust them. He asks for a true prophet (v. 7). Ahab says there is one but he hates him because he doesnot support the kings evil policies (v. 8). At Jehoshaphats insistence Ahab sends for him (v. 9).When Micaiah arrives, he decides to go along with the deception, telling Ahab to go to war and promising he will win (vv. 1315). Ahab knowshe is toying with him and asks for the truth (v. 16). He gets it (vv. 1723). Micaiah suffers for his integrity (vv. 2428).Micaiah has a vision. In that vision God is declaring His plan to take the life of Ahab, perhaps the most wicked of all Israels wicked kings (v.19f). In that vision, first we see Jehovah, the LORD (v. 19a). Next is His heavenly council standing on His right and left. These evidently represent thecouncil of the Watcher angels already referred to. The Lord asks the best strategy to lead Ahab to his own defeat. There is general disagreement in the11 1. See Leviticus 17:7, Deuteronomy 32:1618.

council (v. 20). Suddenly a spirit comes forward. He offers to be a deceiving spirit in the mouth of all his [Ahabs] prophets (v. 22a). His offer isaccepted by God (v. 22b).Micaiah interprets the vision to the two kings and evidently before all the lying prophets. He says, the LORD has put a deceiving spirit in themouth of all these your prophets; and the LORD has proclaimed disaster against you (v. 23). Needless to say, this did not make Micaiah very popularwith King Ahab and his prophets (vv. 2428).How is this passage to be understood? Once again, the problem is a world view problem.2 Filtered through the Jewish view of the spirit worldalready mentioned, there is no problem. What Micaiah described in his vision occurred as he describes it. In his description, he resorts toanthropomorphism. God is seen as a king seeking advice of His council of wise men. He is also seen as Lord even over the evil spirits. Since Hispeople are involved (Ahab was the leader of one group of Gods people), the lying spirit must obtain Gods permission to cause the death of Ahab.The permission is granted because it fits Gods plans.As Matthew Henry says, It is not without the divine permission that the devil deceives men, and even thereby God serves His own purpose. 3Finally, the New Testament provides us with the needed balance at this point. Satan and his demons are fully developed personalities with mind,emotions, and will. Like the men they inspire towards evil, they can scheme against Gods people, attack and afflict them, defeat and even kill thechildren of God (1 Thess. 2:18; 3:5; Rev. 2:10; 12:17; 13:7). Yet, the child of God who puts on the full armor of God and learns spiritual warfare isprotected from serious injury by the Evil One. Satans freedom in the evil he does against Gods people is still subject to Gods sovereign will. Sinand unbelief on the part of the believer, however, opens him to direct satanic-demonic attack (1 Cor. 7:5; 1 Thess. 3:5; Eph. 4:27).The Demonic Practice of Child SacrificeAs we continue with the Old Testament encounter with the spirit world we must now examine the most horrible dimension of demonic religiousactivity among Israels neighbors, the practice of child sacrifice. I do this for three major reasons.First, child sacrifice was commonly practiced not only among the pagan Canaanites but in all probability among most of the major people groupswhose inhabitants worshipped the same or similar gods as the Canaanites.Second, in most major periods of apostasy, Israel fell into the darkness of this horrible practice. Thus it was a major feature of Israels terribledefeat in its warfare with the spirit world.Third, child sacrifice has resurfaced in our day in Satanism, satanic cults, and in many witchcraft cults now flourishing in America and other partsof the Western world. It also still exists in some areas of the Two-thirds World.There are dozens of references to child sacrifice to the gods in the Old Testament. There are none in the New Testament. Roman law, whichdominated the New Testament world, did not permit human sacrifice. Unfortunately for the thousands of human beingsmostly childrensacrificedto the gods and the spirits during the Old Testament era, no such laws existed. If they did exist, they were not enforced. E. E. Carpenter lists the keyphrases used in the Old Testament which refer to child sacrifice.4 The phrase used most frequently is cause to pass over followed by one or more ofthe following phrases: to Molech (Jer. 32:35); through the fire (2 Kings 16:3; 17:17; 21:6; Ezek. 20:31); or the combination of Molech withthrough the fire in 2 Kings 23:10; burnt offerings (Judg. 11:31; 2 Kings 3:27); and caused their sons, whom they bore to Me [God is speaking],to pass through the fire to them [the idols] as food (Ezek. 23:37).22 2. Simon J. DeVries in his commentary on 1 Kings in the Word series reveals his world view problems with this passage. He saysthe lying spirit is the spirit (. . . evidently the spirit of prophetic inspiration, personified) who does the deceiving. He does notidentify it as a lying, demonic spirit (I Kings, WBC [Waco, Texas: Word, 1985], 268).33 3. See Matthew Henrys further insights, Commentary on the Whole Bible (New York: Fleming H. Revell, 1935) 2:702704.44 4. E. E. Carpenter, Human Sacrifice in G. W. Bromiley, ed., ISBE (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1989) 4:258260.

In Ezekiel 16:21; 20:26 the verbal form cause to pass over is used alone, but the meaning is clear, Carpenter says. It means you slaughteredMy children, and offered them up to idols by causing them to pass through the fire (Ezek. 16:21).Then we have burn in the fire to [the god] (Deut. 12:31; 2 Kings 17:31; Jer. 7:31; 19:51); and offer it up as a burnt offering, also referring tochild sacrifice, in Judges 11:31, the story of the daughter of Jephthah, and in 2 Kings 3:27, the story of the oldest son of the king of Moab.Carpenter notes that the common Hebrew word for sacrifice, zabah, is used in Psalm 106:37, for they even sacrificed their sons and theirdaughters to the demons. Again, the Old Testament clearly recognizes the truth of 1 Corinthians 10:20, the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, theysacrifice to demons and not to God. When the Jews imitated these practices and sacrificed their children to the gods or even to Jehovah, they toowere actually sacrificing to demons. The same, of course, is true in religious child sacrifice today.In Ezekiel 16:20 and 23:39 we again have zabah. In the first case the verse says, Your sons and your daughters whom you had borne to Me . . .you sacrificed them to idols to be devoured (Ezek. 16:20). In the second case it is, for when they had slaughtered their children for their idols(Ezek. 23:39). In both cases the charges were being brought against rebellious Israel and Judah.It should be pointed out that the Israelites became involved in this heinous practice primarily in their days of war and apostasy. This practice wasprohibited and strongly condemned by God at every period in Israels history, from Genesis to Malachi.Carpenter surveys the practice of human or child sacrifice in the ancient Near East. He points out that the practice was widespread inMesopotamia, Phoenicia, and in Africa; especially in Phoenician Carthage. The Phoenicians were Canaanites who migrated to North Africa.Human/child sacrifice was also practiced by the Chinese, Celts, Aztecs, and Mayans; in Sardinia, Sicily, Tunisia, and probably other places.5Lawrence E. Stager and Samuel R. Wolff, in a recent report on ancient child sacrifice, note that the Phoenician cemetery in Carthage, NorthAfrica, dedicated exclusively as the repository of the burnt bones of child and animal sacrifices, is the largest cemetery of sacrificed humans everdiscovered. Child sacrifice took place there almost continuously for a period of over 600 years from about 400 B.C. to the third century A.D. Itprobably began about 800 B.C., however.Tertullian (160225 A.D.), the great church father from Carthage, writes about this horrible practice continuing even in his day. He calls it theevil activity of Satan causing his servants to sacrifice their own children to him. He then writes thatin Africa infants used to be sacrificed to Saturn [Satan]. . . . Yes, and to this day that unholy crime persists in secret. . . . Saturn did not spare his own children . . .their own parents offered them to him, were glad to respond and fondled their children that they might not be sacrificed in tears. 6

Stager and Wolff further say that the biblical name Tophet, taken from Jeremiah 7:3032, is the name used to refer to all such places of sacrificeand repositories of the remains of children sacrificed to the gods. Tophet names a location in the Valley of Ben-Hinnom on the south side of ancientJerusalem where ritual sacrifice-by-fire took place:The people of Judah have done evil in my sight, saith the Lord. . . . They build the high place of Tophet, which is in the Valley of Ben-Hinnom, to burn theirsons and their daughters in fire. Such a thing I never commanded, nor had in mind. (Jer. 7:3032)

Biblical references connect the Tophet to Baal worship:

They rejected the commandments of the Lord . . . and served Baal. They consigned their sons and daughters to the fire (2 Kings 17:1617; see also Jer. 32:35).

In 2 Kings 23:10 and Jeremiah 32:35, we find strong suggestions that Tophet was also associated with the Canaanite god Molech.The Jerusalem Tophet was dismantled by King Josiah in the seventh century B.C. [King Josiah of Judah] defiled Tophet, which is in the Valley of the son ofHinnom, that no man might make his son or daughter pass through the fire for Molech. (2 Kings 23:10)Whether this was its first destruction and whether it was thereafter rebuilt, we cannot be sure.55 5. Carpenter, 259.66 6. Lawrence E. Stager and Samuel R. Wolff, Child Sacrifice at Carthageand in the Bible Biblical Archaelogy Review (JanuaryFebruary, 1984) 3051. The following scripture quotations are these authors translations.

These Biblical references have led modern scholars to call by the name Tophet the huge cemetery of sacrificed children at Phoenician Carthage, as well as similarprecincts at other Phoenician sites in Sicily, Sardinia and Tunisia. 7

The cemetery at Carthage is between 54,000 and 64,000 square feet. It may contain as many as 20,000 urns with the remains of the childrensacrificed, plus bones of animals also sacrificed.8 Some urns contained the charred remains of two to three children. Their ages ran from the earliestdays of birth to six years of age, evidently all from the same family. Thousands of additional urns were lost when the Romans destroyed the cemeteryin 146 B.C. While unlawful, the practice of child sacrifice continued.The Phoenicians established Tophets in many of their leading cities and trading centers. For centuries the Phoenicians were the great merchants,traders, sailors, and craftsmen of the biblical world. In 900 B.C. the Phoenician king, Hiram of Tyre, provided King Solomon with the necessarymaterials to build the great Jewish temple. Phoenicians also were the sailors of Solomons fleets (1 Kings 5:1ff; 7:1345; 10:11,22).The Case of Abraham and Isaac: Genesis 22The first mention of the subject of human sacrifice in the Bible is in Genesis 22. There God commands Abraham to offer up his promised son,Isaac (vv. 12) in one of the most dramatic, controversial stories in the Old Testament. Abraham was probably well acquainted with the child sacrificeof Mesopotamia and of some of the tribes in the land of Canaan where he lived. He knew it was wrong. He also knew God would somehowintervene, even if it meant God would have to raise his son from the dead (vv. 58). God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering,my son, (v. 8) is the key phrase. It was spoken in answer to Isaacs question, Where is the lamb for the burnt offering? (v. 7).The writer of Hebrews provides us with new insight into Abrahams faith as he responded in obedience to Gods strange request that he offerIsaac in sacrifice.By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac; and he who had received the promises was offering up his only begotten son; it was he to whom it wassaid, IN ISAAC YOUR DESCENDANTS SHALL BE CALLED. He considered that God is able to raise men even from the dead; from which he also received him back asa type. (Heb. 11:1719)

Carpenter says that Abraham was startled by Yahwehs demand, but not unfamiliar with the requirement. The sacrifice does not occur, however.The story, as it stands, rejects human sacrifice. Instead it both stresses Abrahams faith and demonstrates Yahwehs ability to provide an approvedsubstitute sacrifice. Carpenter states that Genesis 22 thus indicates that human sacrifice was not approved in the time of Abraham, Israels mostremote ancestor.9In Leviticus 18:20, God forbids child sacrifice, equating it with profanation of His name. Leviticus 20:25 declares that anyone who practiceschild sacrifice, i.e., who gives any of his offspring to Molech, is to be stoned to death. That man and his family would have their name cut off fromIsrael for playing the harlot with Molech, God says (v. 5). God goes so far as to say if others knew of the mans sin and did not have him executed,they too would come under the same curse (v. 45). What more powerful warning against, and condemnation of, the practice could ever be given!Deuteronomy 12:2931 has Moses talking with Israel about the conquest of the Promised Land. Moses says God will cut off before you thenations which you are going in to dispossess, and you are to dispossess them and dwell in their land (v. 29). He next says Israel must beware thatyou are not ensnared to follow them (v. 30). He then lists some of the abominable acts which the inhabitants of the land were guilty of which causedGod to have them destroyed (vv. 30b31a). The worst act of all, God says, is they even burn their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods (v.31b).77 7. Stager and Wolff, 32.88 8. The animals were seen as substitutes for the sacrifice of children. Strange as it may seem, as Phoenician culture advanced,child sacrifice increased in relationship to substitute animal sacrifices. See the BAR article for a thorough insight into this hideouspractice of parents sacrificing their own children to the gods, particularly to Baal and his consort Tanit Ashtart. BAR calls it thebloody cult, 48.99 9. Carpenter, 259.

The historical books contain the greatest amount of references to child sacrifice in the early books of the Old Testament. References occur in mostof the books from Judges to 2 Chronicles. Judges 12:10 reveals Israels failure to destroy the Canaanites. Chapters 2:113:8 reveal their apostasyand Gods decision not to drive out the rest of the remaining evil nations as he had promised. This was because of Israels continual disobedience.They fell into idolatry and immorality, God says, especially in the worship of the god and goddess pair, Baal and Ashtoreth.The Baal-Ashtoreth connection was the most vile form of pagan worship imaginable, as we have already discovered. It involved religiousprostitution, orgies, and child sacrifice. The child sacrifice at Carthage was also devoted to this god-goddess pair, Baal and Ashtoreth. In Carthagethey were known as Baal-Hammon and Tanit. Tanit was the same as Ashtoreth.10In Judges 321 the battle with the spirit world goes on. That these chapters reflect an ongoing power encounter is clear in the account of Gideonrecorded in Judges 6:135. There Gideon, in true power encounter style, destroys the altar of Baal and his companion Asherah (vv. 2527). Thepeople are so angry they decide to kill Gideon (vv. 2830). Gideons father, Joash, defends his son: Let Baal defend himself if he is what he claimsto be (see vv. 3132). It is amusing reading.One case of child sacrifice in Israel has to do with Jephthah (Judg. 11:140). She was not a child, but a daughter of marriageable age. It is a tragicstory of zeal for God, cursed by syncretism.11 The vow Jephthah took was totally contrary to the law of God (vv. 2940). The response of thedaughters of Israel to the sacrifice of Jephthah reveal the writers and the nations negative view of Jephthahs action (vv. 3740).First Kings, 2 Kings, and 2 Chronicles contain terrible stories of child sacrifice among the pagans but especially among the Jews. Isaiah,Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Amos, Micah, and others refer to this abominable practice.12We are witnessing a terrible revival of child mutilation and sacrifice in our day. Later in our study I give a major case study of my deliverance andcounseling ministry with a missionary who is an adult survivor of Satanic Ritual Abuse in which her Satanist father attempted to offer her in sacrificeto Satan.We are also witnessing an organized satanic conspiracy to refute the accounts of child sacrifice in the U.S. and other parts of the Western world.This is a satanically inspired cover-up. Dozens of children have come forth testifying how they were tortured into submission to wicked satanicleaders. They also were made to participate in the sacrifice of other little children to Satan.Adults converted to Christ from Satanism and satanic cults have told horrible stories of child sacrifice. Major television news programs havegiven shocking revelations of the practice. Adult survivors have appeared on talk shows telling the horror of child sacrifice which they witnessed orwere forced to participate in as children and young people, even as adults. The books by Wilder (1992) and Friesen (1991) document these horrors.Other references in the bibliography at the end of this book and in the chapters on child abuse tell where more information can be obtained.1010 10. Stager and Wolff, 32ff.1111 11. Yet syncretism was the number one problem which God had to deal with in the life of His fickle people from before thetime of Abraham until the Exile. If he had dealt with them on New Testament standards few would have been saved. He acceptedmen where He found them and worked across centuries through His power, His prophets, and His Word to gradually bring them toHimself, free from the demonic deceptions of counterfeit religions and religious experiences and the immorality of the flesh andthe lusts and vain glory of the world. How else can we explain Abrahams pagan religious early life (assumed), occasional lying,adultery with Hagar (Was it right in Gods eyes for His man to have a wife and a concubine or practice polygamy? See Walter C.Kaiser, Toward Old Testament Ethics (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 1983), 181f). Would Jacobs lifestyle be accepted today?He was, for years, a deceiver, a liar, a polygamist. His son Judah visited a temple prostitute and was guilty of incest (Gen. 38:12)and kept concubines. What about the foreign gods found among his family members, including his beloved Rachel (Gen.31,34)? God said nothing about these moral and religious failures in the beginning. He has plenty to say about them today,however (see Don Richardson, Eternity in Their Hearts [Ventura, Calif.: Regal, 1982b].1212 12. Carpenter, 259260.

The revival of paganism in America will only increase unless a nationwide Christian revival occurs to break the back of this demonic evil. In themeantime, let us use every weapon at our disposal to help save our children from this ultimate evil.

35Of Kings and ProphetsAll pagan religion is a power game.Dr. Arthur Mouw was a pioneer missionary with the Christian and Missionary Alliance in Borneo. His entire ministry among the Dyak tribalpeople of Borneo is a story of faith, suffering, power demonstrations, more sufferings, and more power demonstrations. All was done by God throughthe unpretentious steps of obedience of Mouw and mostly of his converts.The gospel, under Mouws ministry, had divided the Dyak tribal people. Some followed the missionary while others continued with the powermagic indigenous religious leader. While Mouw was away a village chief called the heads of the village and all the people together.We have always followed the spirits of the hills, the rivers, and the jungles till the Jesus people came to live among us, he said. We are nowdivided as a people. Who is God? The spirit-man says the gods and spirits of the forest, rivers, and mountains are the true gods. The Jesus people sayJesus alone is God. Today we are going to know who is God. I will set up a contest of the gods. Whichever god meets the challenge, he is the god wewill follow.The leaders and the people agreed. The chief then set the stage for the ordeal. He took the traditional power worker to one of the biggest longhouses. It was about 30 feet or more tall and 100 feet long. He called for a leader of the Jesus people. A young believer was put forward. This in itselfwas unusual for their culture: the older, wiser, respected religious practitioner paired against a young man, and a new believer at that. The chief gavea fresh egg to each of the men.The god who is the true God will preserve the egg of his servant. We will all follow the God who reveals His power. You each are to throw youregg over the house. The true God will not allow his egg to break.The magic power worker went through his magic power rituals. He then hurled his egg over the long house. The elders stood on the far side toobserve the results. It smashed into a thousand pieces.The young man lifted his heart to God. Show yourself to be the Lord, the Creator of heaven and earth. Show to all the people that Jesus is YourSon. Show to everyone that we are Your servants and that we speak Your Word in Your Name.He hurled his egg over the long house. It fell to the other side and bounced like a rubber ball without a single crack in the shell.The Jesus God is the true God! the chief shouted. We will all follow him.And they did.1Dr. Mouws story took place in the twentieth century, but its overtones echo power encounters that reach back into the Old Testament, where Godcommands Israel to have no gods before Him. The major focus of the first part of the Ten Commandments (Exod. 20:117) is upon the person of God(vv. 13). The commandments were given to a people whose past and present history engulfed them in the world of polytheism, idolatry, and evilspirits. Consequently, the second focus of the Ten Commandments is on the no-gods (Exod. 20:35). Thus the Ten Commandments are placed in aspiritual warfare context.Next, God follows with a unique curse upon all who hate Me (vv. 56). This hatred of God occurs in the context of warfare with the no-gods. Ifone hates God by serving the no-gods, God will not only judge him, but will extend this judgment upon future generations, onto the third and the

11 1. Personal notes by the author written while listening to Dr. Mouw at Biola University in the early 1950s.

fourth generations of those who hate Me (v. 5b). This is a unique curse. It is repeated over and over again throughout the Old Testament, always inthe context of serving the no-gods.This following of the no-gods and its subsequent divine curse is often called generational sin, inherited sin, and familial sin. It is one of the majorcauses of demonization in the lives of people till today.The Case of King SaulThe books of 1 Samuel through 2 Chronicles are filled with direct or indirect references to spirit world manifestations. The power encountersbetween God and Dagon, the Baals and Ashteroth in 1 Samuel 57 are fascinating reading, filled with possibilities for deeper study. Perhaps thesingle most important story in this book which relates to the people of God and evil spirits is the story of King Saul (1 Sam. 931). I continually usehis life as a case study of a man of God who becomes demonized because of serious personal sin.Sauls Positive Spiritual QualitiesWe need not begin with Israels demands for a king so they could be like all the nations (1 Sam. 8:5). We will begin with Saul himself. Saulbegan well. During his first two years he is a man of God, humble, zealous for the honor of God and the salvation of His people. First, he is electedby the sovereign choice of God as prince over Gods people (9:1517; 10:1). From the very beginning he reveals his true humility (9:2021; 15:17).Second, Saul is transformed by the Spirit of God. He was made another man (10:6). He was given a new heart (10:9). The Spirit of God cameupon him mightily (10:6,10). He prophesied under the power of Gods Spirit (10:10). All who knew him before his conversion were amazed at hisspiritual transformation (10:1112). Third, he displays an amazing trust in God to glorify him as His appointed king. He refuses to exalt himself(10:1516,2224).Fourth, he reveals his zeal for the name of Yahweh and the salvation of His people in his victory through the power of the Holy Spirit over theAmmonites (11:111). Fifth, he refuses to take vengeance upon those who opposed him. He chooses to glorify the Lord instead (11:1213). Sixth,because of Sauls exemplary conduct, all Israel reaffirms its covenant with God (11:1415). Saul brings the whole nation back to God. Here is a kingafter Gods own heart who will bring nothing but blessings to the people of God, it would seem.Sauls Slide to DisobedienceThe complex, confusing story of his gradual but persistent, prideful disobedience to God is described in three steps:The first errant step is found in 1 Samuel 13:912. Saul assumes Samuels role as Gods priest and prophet. Samuel sees Sauls action as rebellionagainst the word of the Lord God. He pronounces judgment upon the nation because of Sauls disobedience (vv. 1314).The second backwards step is revealed in 14:2446. Here we find an unholy mixture of self-assertion and zeal for God. He reaches the point ofwillingness to kill his own son, Jonathan, in the name of the Lord. He is an extremist, a religious fanatic.The third and most serious evidence of a declining spiritual life is disclosed in 15:135. Sauls self-centeredness and pride lead him to rebelopenly against the word of the Lord. His confession and repentance are not true brokenness for sin against God. He is rejected by both God andSamuel.The final evidence of Sauls pride and rebellion is his growing jealousy of David. He is an egomaniac. He goes into rages. He repeatedly attemptsto kill David (18:717; 19:1,811). Sauls persistent pride and rebellion against God and His word finally push him across the fine line between theoperations of the flesh and the world2 and those of demonic spirits. He becomes demonized.

22 2. I say the world because Saul was acting exactly like the world of his day said a monarch should act. In fact, Saul at hisworst was a saint in comparison to the kings of his day. Thus, Saul was facing and losing a multidimensional sin war, i.e., warfarewith the flesh, the world, and as we will soon discover, with evil supernaturalism.

Up to now his sin has had its origin in the flesh and the world. From now on it will be fully multidimensional, the flesh, the world, and demons(16:14; 18:1011; 19:9).3The result? Saul at times becomes irrational in his thinking and conduct (18:1011). Yet he continues to seek God. He is again filled with theHoly Spirit (19:1824). Sauls case is indeed strange. He is filled with the Holy Spirit, mightily twice (10:613; 11:6). This filling is similar to theNew Testament focus on filling as empowerment for service (Acts 2:4f; 4:8,2831; 9:1722). He then begins his fall due to pride. The climax isreached with the Spirit of the Lord departs from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord terrorizes him (16:14).Ralph W. Klein marks the difference between the Holy Spirit coming upon Saul repeatedly and the statement concerning David that the Spirit ofthe Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward (16:13).4The evil spirit from the Lord also comes and goes (16:1423; 18:10; 19:9). His departure in one case (16:1423) was due to Davids musicalministry to Saul on his harp. The result was, Saul would be refreshed and be well and the evil spirit would depart from him (16:23).5 This was notalways successful, however. In fact in the next two cases Davids presence and music only agitate Saul and probably the evil spirit within him(18:10f; 19:9). The latter has been my experience with evil spirits also.Yet, with all of this the Holy Spirit again comes upon Saul giving him the ability to prophesy (19:2024). Again, I repeat, Sauls is a most unusualcase. To go into depth to deal with his complex life would require more pages than I can give in this chapter.Sauls DemonizationSauls demonization seems to move through progressively worsening stages.Stage one. At the beginning, his demonization is more mild. He has periods of normality. Probably, the purpose of these was to bring him to truerepentance (1 Sam. 16:1423; 1 Tim. 1:20).Stage two. His demonization becomes very intense. He at times becomes irrational (1 Sam. 18:10a). He is destructive in his interpersonalrelationships: first with his own daughters, then he tries to kill Jonathan. Finally, he again seeks to murder Jonathans best friend and Gods anointed,David (18:10,11; 19:917; 20:30f).Stage three is revealed in 1 Samuel 28. Without denying his faith in the Lord, Saul slips into occultic, mediumistic practices. He becomesinvolved with the medium of Endor.I have seen this occur on many occasions, especially with believers in Africa and Asia. They are Christians. They love the Lord. In a desperateattempt to get power or hidden knowledge, they resort to spirit power practices. Like Saul, they usually end up demonized.For Saul, this desperate act was precipitated by the death of Samuel and Gods final rejection of Saul as the leader of His people (25:1; 28:6). Asthe Philistines gather for a final battle with Israel, Saul becomes desperate.When Saul inquired of the LORD, the LORD did not answer him (28:6). Showing the paganism which lay under the surface of many believers ofhis day, he seeks for a medium to bring up the spirit of Samuel. In this case God causes Samuel to appear, even surprising the medium (28:712).Samuel rejects Sauls appeal for help. He reminds him of the occasion of his first major wilful rebellion against the word of God (28:1618).Samuel pronounces judgment upon Saul. His life will be taken the next day. Israel will be defeated by the Philistines (v. 19). Saul had sinned untodeath (28:19; 31:16 see 1 Cor. 5:15; 1 Tim. 1:1920 with 2 Tim. 2:1718; 1 John 5:1617; 1 Cor. 11:2732). Saul dies severely demonized, but33 3. Again we discover the spirit world as seen throughout the grid of the Old Testament world view. Demonic spirits, even Satanhimself (Job 12) cannot severely harass or demonize a sinning believer unless given direct permission by God. Thus the OldTestament writers describe the evil spirit as an evil spirit from the Lord (16:14; 18:10; 19:9) (See our discussion of this issue inthe last chapter).44 4. Ralph W. Klein, I Samuel, WBC (Waco, Texas: Word, 1983), 165. His insightful words on pages 165167 are excellent,distinguishing between David and Saul at this point.55 5. See Kleins discussion of the cultural context of this musical exorcism of evil spirits, 165166.